Mole ‘Poblano’
This is my version of the famous mole from Puebla which I have been making for years. It’s a mash-mash of a variety of recipes so I’m not claiming that it’s truly authentic but it does taste amazing.
As Maite Gomez-Rejón says, mole poblano is a labour of love. Think of it as a bit like making a curry from scratch where you are building layers of flavour. One of the key elements are the dried chillies you use. Have a listen to this short excerpt from the interview I did with Maite on which ones are best.
Elizabeth Lambert Ortiz includes an good section on the different chillies typically used in Mexican cuisine in her book The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking (Grub Street, 2004). If you are based in the UK MexGrocer online has an excellent selection of dried chillies and other Mexican produce.
Serves 4
Ingredients for the chicken stock
8 x whole chicken thighs, skin on
1 stick celery sliced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 onion halved and each half stuck with a clove
1 clove garlic, peeled and squashed
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
1 litre/34 fl.oz. water
Method for the chicken stock
Place all the ingredients in a large flameproof casserole or a pressure cooker. Bring up to the boil, cover then simmer for around 30 minutes. Allow to cool before removing the chicken. If using a pressure cooker, bring up to high pressure then cook for three minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
Remove the chicken then strain the stock into a jug. Reserve both the stock (you should have around a litre (34 fl.oz.) and the chicken for use in the recipe. This stage can be done a day or two before you make the mole.
Ingredients for the mole style sauce
2 dried chipotle or guajillo chillies
2 dried pasilla chillies
2 ancho chillies
500ml/17 fl.oz. chicken stock
1½ tbsp unsalted peanuts
1½ tbsp blanched almonds
3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 small corn or flour tortilla
1 onion, unpeeled
2 x garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbsp raisins
230g/8oz tin chopped tomatoes or equivalent of fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
50g/2oz lard or 3 tbsp vegetable oil
25g/1oz dark chocolate, grated (unsweetened if possible or minimum of 70% cocoa solids)
Ingredients for the spice mix
5cm/2” pc cinnamon stick
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp anise seeds
½ tsp black pepper corns
4 cloves
½ tsp chilli seeds (or more to taste)
Method for the sauce
Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Dry roast the chillies until fragrant. It will be hard to see if they are colouring because they are very dark so turn them frequently (this process should only take a few minutes). If you see smoke you’ve burnt them!
Allow the chillies to cool slightly then remove the stalks and the seeds, reserving some of the latter for the spice mix. Soak the toasted chillies in 250ml/8½fl.oz hot chicken stock for an hour.
Using the same pan you roasted the chillies in, gently toast the spices and ½ tsp chilli seeds for the spice mix. Place the toasted spices into a coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder.
Use the pan again to toast the nuts until golden. Repeat the process with the sesame seeds, Once the seeds are toasted reserve 1 tbsp for decoration.
You’re still not done with toasting! Now toast the tortilla, flipping regularly until lightly browned and crisp.
If you have a gas hob, skewer the onion on a fork then hold it close to the flame so that the outer skin is charred (make sure you have your extractor fan on to avoid setting off your smoke alarm!). Repeat this with the garlic cloves. The charring does add something to the flavour but if you don’t use gas this step can be skipped.
Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic.
Put the chillies and their soaking liquid, the ground spices, toasted nuts, 2 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, the toasted tortilla broken into pieces, the chopped onion and garlic, 2 tablespoons of raisins, chopped tomatoes and 2 tbsp tomato puree in a food processor or blender and blend to a smooth paste.
Heat 25g/1oz of the lard or 1½ tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the mole paste then fry until fragrant. After around 5 minutes add the grated chocolate and 250ml stock. Cook for 30 minutes or so stirring frequently to avoid the mixture sticking to the pan. The mole sauce should be the consistency of thick porridge. Add more chicken stock if you think the sauce is too thick. Check the seasoning before seasoning adding more salt if required.
While the sauce is cooking pre-heat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan. Heat the remaining 25g/1oz lard or 1½ tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat. Cook the chicken thighs skin side down for a few minutes to brown them. Remove from the frying pan and place in a roasting dish skin side up, pouring over any residual fat from the frying pan. Roast for around 15-20 minutes or until the thighs are thoroughly heated through. Spoon some the sauce over the thighs then sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds. Any leftover sauce can be frozen.