Mole Sauce

Mole is a Mexican sauce that features chocolate along with other spices and textures. It’s a classic part of traditional Mexican cuisine, but not the over-commercialized kind we’re used to at Taco Johns. You can always opt to buy mole sauce, but why?

Ingredients

• 2 TBL Olive oil
• 1 Onion – diced
• 2 cloves Garlic – minced
• 1 bolillo – or 8″ of baguette bread cut into1-inch pieces
• 2 dried ancho chiles – rinsed, stemmed, seeded, and diced
• 2 New Mexican red chile pods – rinsed, stemmed, seeded, diced
• 2 tomatillos – husks removed, rinsed, and diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 TBL smooth peanut butter
• 1.5 oz. Mexican chocolate, or substitute
  • 1.5 TBL cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract – optional
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 3 TBL mole paste – Dona Maria is a good option
• 2 tsp Kosher salt

Process

1. Mise en Place – measure and prepare your ingredients prior to starting.
2. Make the Mole Sauce
   1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bolillo, chiles, tomatillos, tomato, and sesame seeds and sauté for ~10 mins until soft. 
   2. In a blender
      1. Pour in half the broth and boiled onion
      2. Add half the sautéed ingredients.
      3. Add peanut butter, chocolate pieces, cocoa powder, mole paste, and salt.
      4. Blend until smooth.
      5. Transfer sauce back to the skillet. 
   3. Pour the other half of the broth and sautéed ingredients into blender and puree. Pour the mixture into the large skillet.
   4. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer ~10 mins.