Mole Poblano
Mole poblano is the great national dish of Mexico, claimed by Puebla nuns who, legend has it, improvised the sauce for an unexpected archbishop in 1681. Whatever its true origin, the result is a sauce of remarkable layering: dried chiles, nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruit and chocolate, each toasted and then ground together into a paste that is fried in hot fat before being thinned with stock. A proper mole rewards patience — the toasting, the charring and the long stir of the paste in lard all build flavours that simply cannot be hurried. It is most often served over poached chicken or turkey, with white rice and warm corn tortillas to carry every spoonful.
National dish of Mexico
A 17th-century Puebla sauce of toasted chiles, nuts, seeds and chocolate
Three chiles, one sauce
Ancho, mulato and pasilla give the sweet-smoky base
Chocolate as seasoning
A small bar adds depth, not sweetness
Fry the paste
10–15 minutes of stirring in hot lard concentrates the flavour
Ingredients 4 servings
- 80 g mixed dried chiles — 3 ancho + 3 mulato + 2 pasilla — stemmed and seeded
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo, plus 1 tbsp of its sauce
- 100 g blanched almonds and 80 g raw peanuts
- 30 g raw sesame seeds (plus extra to garnish) and 60 g raisins
- 2 large ripe tomatoes, halved; 1 small white onion, quartered; 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 1 star anise and 6 black peppercorns
- 2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces — the traditional thickener
- 60 g Mexican chocolate, broken up (or 50 g dark chocolate + 1 tsp cinnamon + 1 tbsp light brown sugar)
- 1.2 L unsalted chicken stock, kept warm
- 3 tbsp lard (manteca) or neutral oil
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs, poached in salted water for 25 minutes and patted dry
- 1 tsp fine sea salt and a small pinch of sugar
- To serve: cooked white rice, warm corn tortillas, fresh coriander leaves
How to make it
- 1Toast the dried chiles in a dry heavy pan over medium heat for about 30 seconds per side until fragrant, then transfer to a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for 20 minutes.
- 2In the same pan, toast the almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, raisins and whole spices in small batches until just golden — about 2 minutes each — and set aside.
- 3Char the tomato halves, onion quarters and unpeeled garlic directly over a flame or under a hot broiler until blackened in patches, then peel the garlic once cool enough to handle.
- 4Drain the chiles (keeping the soaking water) and blend them with the charred vegetables, chipotle and its sauce, toasted nuts and seeds, raisins, spices and torn tortillas, adding about 500 ml of warm chicken stock to make a smooth dark paste.
- 5Heat the lard in a heavy pot over medium-high heat, pour in the paste and stir constantly for 10–15 minutes; the mole will darken, thicken and turn glossy as the flavours fry together.
- 6Stir in the remaining 700 ml of chicken stock and the broken chocolate, then simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon; season with the salt and a small pinch of sugar.
- 7Slide the poached chicken thighs into the mole and simmer 10 minutes more so they take on the sauce.
- 8Serve the chicken in shallow bowls, ladle generous mole over the top, and finish with the reserved sesame seeds, coriander leaves, white rice and warm corn tortillas on the side.
Nutritional info
per serving (~400 ml)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
