Until a year ago mole was this dish I’d heard mentioned a few times, always with a certain amount of reverence from my Mexican friends and family. Considering my Latin Cuisine savvy didn’t get much further than some form of meat, beans, and salsa intersecting with tortillas, fried into some clever shape to get goods in my mouth, I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. When my daughter turned one my husband informs me with awe that the little princesa will have mole made from scratch for her party. I am a spicy food addict so when I tried it, I remember mostly being confused. I wasn’t sure what I was tasting exactly, it wasn’t sweet, it wasn’t savory, it wasn’t spicy. It was just … mole. Weird.

I forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when my salsa lady at the farmers market asks if I want to sample her mole. There’s that word again. Sure, I say, and imagine my surprise when she hands me a jar of … what I can only describe as goop. She proceeds to explain how to use it to make a sauce and off I go, more than a little freaked out. And now, after much research and experimentation I bring to you the simple, cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater way to make both dark and green mole.

 Mole Negro Sauce

Ingredients 

• 2 – 3 heaping tbsp of dark mole paste, depending on how thick you want the sauce
• 2  cups chicken broth
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 disks Mexican chocolate
• 1/2 cup almond butter

Preparation

• Add 2 cups of broth to the blender. Add the dark mole paste, almond butter, cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper to the blender as well. Break up the chocolate and add into the blender. Blend ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.
• In a medium-sized pot add the mole sauce. Simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• While the sauce is thickening and simmering, slice a red onion into thin rings. Cut the rings in half once. Put them in a bowl and squeeze one whole lemon and stir to coat. They need to marinate for about 30 minutes. 

Mole Verde Sauce

Ingredients 

• 4 cups of chicken stock
• 2 – 3 heaping tbsp of green mole paste, depending on how thick you want the sauce
• 1 pd tomatillos, husks removed
• Peppers:
  • Mild: 1 chopped passila
  • Medium: 2 chopped jalapenos
  • Hot: 2 chopped serranos
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

• In a large stock pot, add your husked tomatillos, cover with broth, and boil for 20 minutes, until soft. 
• Add to the blender:
  • Tomatillos
  • 2 cups of the broth from the stock pot
  • 2-3 heaping tablespoons of green mole paste
  • Chopped peppers
• Blend ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.
• In a medium-sized pot, add the mole sauce. Simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
• While the sauce is thickening and simmering, slice a red onion into thin rings. Cut the rings in half once. Put them in a bowl and squeeze one whole lemon and stir to coat. They need to marinate for about 30 minutes. 

Notes: 

• Traditionally, mole is served drenching a chicken quarter. Add Spanish rice and warn corn tortillas on the side with picked red onion and cilantro to garnish. You can also mix your shredded chicken into the sauce during the simmering period and use it in your favorite Mexican entree: Tacos, burritos, quesadillas…
• Can I plus this? You know you can! Poach your own chicken breasts to create the stock for your sauce and use that instead of store bought broth.
• Note a fan of chicken? That’s ok! Add cubed steak into the sauce during the simmering period instead, and sub the chicken broth for beef broth.  
• If you want to get a little creative, you can actually use the green or dark mole sauce to make enchiladas. Just make your casserole as usual but your mole sauce is substituted for ranchera sauce. For dark mole, I would use a smokier cheese like gouda and for the green mole I would use pepper jack.

So there you have it folks, mole demystified. The process of making the mole paste from scratch is insane and, from what I am told, is something that even the most accomplished Mexican home cooks don’t bother with more than a few times in their life. Now I know why it was a great honor that my mother-in-law made mole poblano from scratch for her reina pequena.

Nom On,

~Crunchy