Mexican Mole Sauce
Recipe makes 6 to 8 portions
Ingredients + Cooking
4 Dried Guajillo Chiles or Dried Ancho Chiles
1 cup Vegetable Stock, plus more if needed to thin the sauce
1 ½ cup Sweet Onion, small diced
2 Tb. Garlic, minced
1 Bell Pepper, seeds and stem discarded, chopped
2 Jalapenos, stem & seeds discarded, pepper chopped (keep seeds to make a spicier sauce)
15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
2 tsp. Ground Coriander
1 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1 Tb. Dried Oregano
1 cup Raw Almonds
3 oz. Dark Chocolate or Mexican Chocolate (80% or higher cocoa), chopped
½ cup Fresh Orange Juice and Zest from the Oranges
2 Tb. Fresh Lime Juice and Zest from the Lime
15 oz. can Black Beans, drained and rinsed OR 2 cups cooked Black Beans from dried beans
½ cup Cilantro Leaves, chopped
Tear the dried chiles into small pieces; discard the tough stems. Combine the torn chiles and vegetable stock in a small saucepan and cover with a lid. Bring liquid to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to soften the chiles. Transfer the chiles and stock to a blender.
Heat a wide sauté pan over medium high heat; when hot add enough grapeseed oil to coat the pan. Add the onion and sauté until lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, bell pepper and jalapenos then sauté until fragrant. Add the cooked vegetables to the blender with the chiles.
Add the roasted tomatoes, coriander, cinnamon, oregano and almonds to the blender. Puree until smooth.
Pour the pureed sauce into a deep medium saucepot and cover the pot with its lid. Bring the sauce to a rapid boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.
Stir the chopped chocolate into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the black beans along with the orange and lime juices and zest. Season the sauce to taste with sea salt.
The mole sauce can be made ahead of time and kept refrigerated for up to 7 days or frozen for up to 6 months.
Reheat over low heat before serving.
Ladle the mole sauce over your vegetables, meat or rice for serving. Garnish with the cilantro to serve.