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Mole Rojo

Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword sauce
Total Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings 10
Author Christine Ma

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup oil divided
  • 6 dried pasillo chiles
  • 5 dried guajillo chiles
  • 4 dried Anaheim chiles
  • 3 cups hot water
  • 3 medium tomatillos husked and rinsed
  • 5 garlic cloves peeled
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
  • ½ cup roasted pepitas
  • ¼ cup roasted sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon anise ground
  • 1 slice white bread darkly toasted and broken into several pieces
  • 1 ounce Mexican chocolate
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chilies, frying them in batches until puffed, about 30 seconds. Flip over the chilies and cook on the other side. Remove from heat and place the chilies in a large bowl. Cover with 3 cups hot water, placing a weight on top to keep the chiles submerged. Let sit for 30 minutes or until softened. Blend the chilies with the soaking liquid until smooth. Strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the stem and seeds.
  • Place the tomatillos on a baking sheet. Roast until charred and softened, about 15 minutes.
  • In the same pot that you fried the chilies in, fry the garlic and almonds, stirring until browned, about 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.
  • Combine the tomatillos with the garlic, almonds, pepitas, sesame seeds, black pepper, anise, bread, chocolate, sugar, and 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth.
  • Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepot over medium heat. Pour the strained chilies and continue to simmer until it's reduced by half, about 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomatillo mixture and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add 4 cups chicken broth and reduce heat to low. Continue to simmer for 2 hours or until mole has thickened. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon when ready. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Notes

There are many different ways you can enjoy mole. You can use it as the sauce for enchiladas, serve it on meat, or enjoy it on tortillas topped with fried eggs as I did.