The Molé

Molés have to be one of the more complicated Mexican things, but there are hundreds of versions and are quite a staple of Mexican cooking. They are in almost everything. In the most simple form, they are a chile paste, but as you will see, they are not just that.

First thing was a trip to the Mexican market of which there actually is a good one here in little ol' Lafayette. Determining which chiles to by and how hot they all were was an interesting process.

Robin decided she would try them all. As the first 4 types were not really hot to her 4 remaining taste buds, she tried the last type a but gung-ho. So now she only has 3 taste buds! A few hours later it was fine. All the chiles, however, had to be seeded, a task I left the other 3 folks to.

Several pots and many hours of work are needed.

Not to mention Mexican chocolate,

and a little more chocolate for flavour.

After cooking it looked like this. This is not the final version as it had to be blended and sieved to a smooth consistency. You'll see that in the next entry.


The recipe

MOLE ESTILO OAXACA - OAXACA Style Mole

For the Chiles
5 chilhuacle negro chiles, or substitute ancho chiles**, seeded, stemmed
5 guajillo chiles, or substitute dried New Mex. chiles, seeded, stemmed
4 pasilla chiles, seeded, stemmed
4 mulatto chiles, or use ancho, seeded, stemmed

For the Spices
12 black peppercorns
6 cloves
1 piece (2 in) Cinnamon Stick or 2 tsp ground cinnamon Ground Cinnamon
2 tbsp dried Mexican oregano Oregano

For the Nuts
½ to 1 cup lard or vegetable oil
½ cup sesame seeds
½ cup dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
½ cup slivered blanched almonds
½ cup walnuts or pecans

For the Dried Fruit
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup pitted dried prunes, sliced
1 cup pitted dried apricots, sliced
1 to 1 ½ cups dry sherry, heated

For the Plantain
1 large, very ripe plantain, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
2 tbsp butter or lard

For the Vegetables
½ head garlic (about 8 cloves), peeled and cut into ½-inch slices
1 large onion, unpeeled
1 lb firm ripe, red tomatoes (2 large or 3 to 4 medium)
¼ lb fresh tomatillos

For Pureeing
4 to 5 cups Caldo de Pollo

To Complete the Dish
1 tablet (3 ounces) Mexican chocolate, chopped

Rinse chiles under cold running water, removing seeds, tops and veins. Cover with boiling water and let soak until softened, no more than ten minutes, while you prepare the spices. Drain and set aside.

Heat a small, heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add peppercorns and cloves; toast, shaking the pan and stirring constantly, until their aroma is released, about one minute. Set aside in small bowl. Lightly toast the cinnamon in same pan for about a minute; add to the pepper and cloves. (If using ground cinnamon, do not toast; just add to other spices when you've finished toasting them.) Toast oregano in same pan until fragrant and add to spices. Set aside while you prepare nuts.

In a heavy, medium-sized skillet, heat 2 to 4 tbsp lard or oil over medium heat until rippling. Add sesame seeds and cook, stirring, just until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes; do not let them darken. Remove to a medium-sized heatproof bowl. In the same pan, cook peanuts in same manner, stirring, until lightly browned, adding a little more lard. Add to bowl with sesame seeds. Cook slivered almonds, then pecans or walnuts in same way, using a little more lard each time and adding toasted nuts to sesame seeds and peanuts. Set aside.

Combine raisins, prunes and apricots in a bowl and pour hot sherry over them. Set aside to soften.

Heat butter or lard in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat until hot and bubbling, then add plantain slices and cook, stirring, until golden on both sides. Set aside.

Heat griddle or cast-iron skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Place unpeeled garlic and onion on griddle and roast, turning several times, until onion is blackened on all sides and garlic is dark brown and somewhat softened. Let cool slightly. Peel onion and garlic; coarsely chop the flesh of the onion. Set aside. On same griddle, roast tomatoes, turning several times, until blackened on all sides. Place in deep bowl to catch juices. Let cool slightly and peel. Drain canned tomatillos and set aside.

Now you are ready to puree ingredients in sequence, working in batches according to the capacity of your blender and adding chicken stock as necessary to facilitate blending.


Place as many of drained chiles and toasted spices in the blender as it can accommodate, with about 1 cup of chicken stock. Process until smoothly pureed, adding more stock if necessary. Repeat with remaining chiles and spices.

With a medium spoon, force puree through a medium-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard whatever won't go through. Scrape puree into a large, heavy saucepan; rinse out the blender to wash away any hard or fibrous bits.

Puree sesame seeds and nuts in several batches with just as much chicken stock as necessary to help free the blades. Add to chile puree. Puree dried fruit and sherry along with sautéed plantain in same manner, adding a little stock if necessary. Add to saucepan with chiles and nuts. Puree onion, garlic, tomatoes and tomatillos. Add to other purees in saucepan, along with chocolate.

Bring sauce to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, for 30 minutes.

Serve with chicken (either cooked separately or browned in a little hot lard and added to sauce to finish braising) and sautéed sliced plantains. Mole is also good with turkey or beef. Can be stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for about 10 days or indefinitely in the freezer.