Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

traditional molé

review
Private Recipe by
Raven Higheagle
Prescott, AZ

The story behind this sauce tells of two nuns surprised by a visitor. They had little in the way of food and so they used a molcajete to grind every ingredient they could find and simmered it in liquid until it thickened into a sauce.

yield serving(s)
prep time 10 Min
cook time 1 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For traditional molé

  • 12
    guajillo chiles, roasted, skinned, stemmed and seeded
  • 3 lg
    tomatoes, roasted and peeled
  • 1/4 c
    lard
  • 1 lg
    white onion, peeled and sliced
  • 8 clove
    garlic
  • 1 stick
    cinnamon torn into small pieces
  • 1 Tbsp
    mexican oregano
  • 1/4 c
    unsalted peanuts or unsweetened peanut butter
  • 1
    whole clove
  • 1/4 c
    masa harina
  • 1 tsp
    cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp
    thyme
  • 1/4 tsp
    anise seeds
  • 1/4 c
    raisins, soaked in water to soften (optional)
  • 3
    peppercorns
  • 4 c
    chicken stock
  • sesame seed to sprinkle on top when serving

How To Make traditional molé

  • 1
    Note: The traditional way is to mash all of the ingredients except the broth, with a molcajete (mortar and pestle) but a blender will also do the job just fine.
  • 2
    Heat the lard in a large saucepan. Add in the onions and garlic and cook until translucent.
  • 3
    In a blender, puree the peanuts then add in the oregano, cinnamon, anise, peppercorns, thyme and cloves and blend with the tomatoes. Puree to make a smooth paste.
  • 4
    Add in the onions and garlic and puree again. Finally, add chiles to blender to puree into a smooth paste.
  • 5
    Add the chicken broth to the pot and add the pureed ingredients.
  • 6
    Make a roux, by mixing the masa with a 1/4 cup of the chicken broth.
  • 7
    Mix the roux into the broth and whisk until mixture is smooth. Add the pureed ingredients and simmer for 1 hour, covered and then simmer uncovered until sauce has thickened.
  • 8
    Sprinkle sesame seeds on top when serving.
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