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Mole Poblano
Mexico's most complex sauce — 30+ ingredients including dried chilies, chocolate, spices, nuts and seeds layered into a profound dark paste.
60 mins
90 mins
8 people
Mexican (Poblano)
Dried mulato chilies
6
Dried ancho chilies
4
Dried pasilla chilies
3
Dried chipotle chilies
2
Dark chocolate (70%)
50g
Raisins
50g
Sesame seeds
3 tbsp
Pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp
Almonds
50g
Peanuts
50g
Cinnamon stick
1
Star anise
2
Black peppercorns
1 tsp
Garlic
6 cloves
Onion
1
Tomatoes
3
Tomatillos
3
Chicken stock
1L
Lard or oil
4 tbsp
Chicken pieces
1.5kg
🍽️ 30+ ingredient traditional mole
→ Quality store-bought mole paste (Doña María) + enhancements
Adding chocolate, stock, and chili to a good paste is far better than skipping mole entirely
Toast each dried chili briefly on a hot pan until fragrant. Soak in hot water 20 minutes.
💡 Pro Tip: Toast until pliable and fragrant — not burnt. Burnt chilies make bitter mole.
Toast sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts, and whole spices separately until golden.
💡 Pro Tip: Each component is toasted separately — they have different burn times.
Char onion, garlic, tomatoes and tomatillos under a broiler or dry pan until blackened.
💡 Pro Tip: Charring adds smokiness and complexity — key to mole's depth.
Blend all components in batches with chili soaking water into a very smooth paste.
💡 Pro Tip: Blend until completely smooth — strain through a sieve for restaurant-smooth mole.
Fry paste in lard until it darkens and thickens. Gradually add stock and simmer 30 minutes. Add chocolate.
💡 Pro Tip: Frying the blended paste transforms it — raw paste simply doesn't taste the same.
- ✓Toast each component separately — they have different times
- ✓Fry the blended paste in fat — this step transforms it
- ✓Mole should be just thick enough to coat the back of a spoon
- ✓This takes 3+ hours — this is a celebration dish, not a weeknight dinner
- →Over turkey or chicken
- →With Mexican rice and black beans
- →With warm corn tortillas