I have been working on my own authentic recipe for mole sauce (pronounced MO-LEH) for a long time. I’ve been jotting down different ingredient variations in order to achieve a similar sauce my grandmother makes in Mexico. What a lot of people do not know is that there are different types of sauces depending on the region of Mexico one travels to. There is a nuttier version, a sweeter more chocolate flavored version, and then there is a super spicy version. From what I remember, my grandmother in southern Mexico made a spicy, darker pepper version with hints of chocolate. It was very addicting and so memorable.
So, what happened when I asked my grandmother to share the recipe with me? She laughed and told me to buy the bottle version in the store because the process what too laborious. I was so shocked! I insisted on the recipe but she said it would be easier to go with the store bought version. WOW. So, the legacy continues. My cooking is all based on memory and how I remember these foods tasting. I was dead set to create my own recipe and version in order to have authentic Mexican mole sauce.
Authentic Mole Sauce
by
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes for sauce
Ingredients (8 cups sauce (2 dozen wings))
- 6 mulato chiles
- 5 ancho chiles
- 6 pasilla chiles
- 2 large tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 2 small onions, cut in quarters
- 2 garilc cloves
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 Tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/2 ripe plantain
- 3 cups water, veggie broth, or pepper water
- 3 Tablespoons sweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
Boil 4 cups of water. Remove the stems from all the dried peppers. Add the peppers to a large heat-resistant bowl and pour hot water over the peppers. Allow the peppers to rehydrate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add the tomatoes, onions and garlic and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until the the onions are softened.
Toast sesame seeds and almonds in a pan over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes and remove from heat.
Add the tomato mixture to the Vitamix or blender. Do not drain liquid from peppers, just remove the peppers from the water and add to the blender. Add the seeds and nuts, plantain, cocoa, salt, cumin and 2 cups of the pepper water and 1 cup of regular water. Blend ingredients together until completely blended.
**If you use a regular blender, pass the sauce through a sieve over a bowl and add one more cup of water to the sauce and blend pepper mixture again. Run the mixture through the sieve and the process is complete.
The sauce is ready for immediate use.
One of the essential ingredients I knew I was going to need were the dried peppers, so I was glad to find out my local Produce Junction had all the necessary ingredients to make this delicious sauce. In the past, I had seen my mother and grandmother make the sauce in a standard blender and then have to run the sauce through a sieve, but I knew my work was going to be cut out for me since I have a Vitamix. A high-powered blender WOULD be nice for the recipe but it is necessary. I will run through another option in the recipe.
After I blended my sauce, the recipe yielded 8 cups of sauce. I love having more than I need because then I can freeze the rest. This is an all-purpose sauce that can be used for a number of recipes. I roasted chicken wings in the oven and added mole sauce to make a Mexican version of the all-American spicy buffalo wings.
I also made a Beef and Mole Enchilada Casserole using the rest of the sauce which proved to be another quick and easy recipe since I had the sauce all ready to use. Another plus in this recipe is that it is VEGAN and GLUTEN-FREE. This sauce would be great for all diets alike. I hope you enjoy the sauce as much as we did.
Mexican Chicken Wings with Authentic Mole Sauce
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes for sauce (85 minut
Keywords: cook boil heat roast toast entree vegan vegan recipes on recipage vegetarian vegetarian recipes on recipage gluten-free low-carb
Ingredients (8 cups sauce (2 dozen wings))
- 6 mulato chiles
- 5 ancho chiles
- 6 pasilla chiles
- 2 large tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 2 small onions, cut in quarters
- 2 garilc cloves
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 2 Tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/2 ripe plantain
- 3 cups water, veggie broth, or pepper water
- 3 Tablespoons sweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
Instructions
Boil 4 cups of water. Remove the stems from all the dried peppers. Add the peppers to a large heat-resistant bowl and pour hot water over the peppers. Allow the peppers to rehydrate for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat olive oil. Add the tomatoes, onions and garlic and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes until the the onions are softened.
Toast sesame seeds and almonds in a pan over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes and remove from heat.
Add the tomato mixture to the Vitamix or blender. Do not drain liquid from peppers, just remove the peppers from the water and add to the blender. Add the seeds and nuts, plantain, cocoa, salt, cumin and 2 cups of the pepper water and 1 cup of regular water. Blend ingredients together until completely blended.
**If you use a regular blender, pass the sauce through a sieve over a bowl and add one more cup of water to the sauce and blend pepper mixture again. Run the mixture through the sieve and the process is complete.
The sauce is ready for immediate use.
Beef and Mole Enchilada Casserole
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: bake entree Mexican
Ingredients (8 servings)
- 24 corn tortillas
- 6 cups mole sauce
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
Grease a 9×13 glass dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large non-stick pan, cook one pound of beef, with diced onions and minced garlic for 12-15 minutes on medium high.
Have prepared mole sauce ready for assembly.
Add 1 cup of mole sauce at the bottom of the glass dish. Add 8 corn tortillas, layering across the dish, two tortillas across from each other. Add 1/3 of the meat on top of the tortillas and add another cup of mole sauce over the meat.
Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella dish over the sauce. Add another layer of 8 tortillas over the cheese. Add another cup of mole sauce, 1/3 cup of meat, and then 1 cup of cheese.
Repeat with one last layer ending with cheese. Cook for 30 minutes and serve with a dollop of sour cream and thinly sliced white onions.
Serve with a cold cucumber salad with lime juice and cilantro and salt.
