Our daughter loves mole sauce and would eat it every day if she could. I am not a fan of it, and apparently I have eaten a lot of good mole sauce over the years. My husband has made it a couple of times and still, hasn't rung any bells for me.
With all the variety of chiles we received from Melissa's, my husband decided this was the perfect time to make a homemade mole sauce and so he did. I have to admit, even though I cannot claim mole sauce is my favorite, I enjoyed this sauce and managed to eat my portion with no problem. It was dark and spicy but with a hint of sweetness that I believe came from the tomatoes we used in place of the tomatillos.
Authentic Mole Sauce
3 c chicken broth
4 T guajillo chiles, ground
4 T chipotle chiles, ground
4 T ancho chiles, ground
1 dinner roll, torn in pieces
2 corn tortillas, cut into 1" strips
1 can (small) of whole, peeled tomatoes
1 can (small) of diced tomatoes
1 T lard
1 onion halves and thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1/3 c chopped peanuts
2 T ground cumin
1 T dried thyme
3 cinnamon stickes
5 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
5 oz Mexican chocolate
3 T sugar
1 t salt
Toast the chile powders in a dry skillet for about 3 minutes. The chiles will be warm and aromatic. Transfer to the blender with 1 c chicken broth. Heat 2 cups of chicken broth until it simmers, pour into blender. Toast the dinner roll and the tortilla strips in the skillet until lightly brown, add to blender. Soak the bread for about 10 minutes in the blender, then blend the mixture until smooth. Cook tomatoes in skillet over medium heat until soft and blackened. Add to blender. Melt the lard and stir in onions, garlic peanuts, spices, cook and stirl until onion are soft and golden. Remove the cinnamon stickes, and the other whole spices. Add onion to the blender and blend until smooth. Pour the blended sauce into a large pot and heat on medium. Stir in chocolate, sugar and salt. Bring to a simmer, stir until chocolate melts and sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
The result is a rich sauce, that darkens as it cooks. The spices and chiles are melding into one delicious sauce, which we like to stir in cooked pieces of chicken thighs, boned and chunked.
You can add tomatillos, peeled and cut into halves, with the tomatoes if you choose. Reduce the tomatoes to 2, and add 4 tomatillos.
I had such a great time learning to cook with dried chiles. I urge you to check out the Melissa's website and order your own. It truly changes the taste of your Mexican food!
