Mole is a rich, dark complex sauce made with chile peppers, chocolate and many more ingredients served during Día de Los Muertos. Today I am sharing a quick and easy mole recipe that you can make any day of the week, but this simplified version doesn’t skimp on flavor. My Quick and Easy MOLE for Día de Los Muertos is rich, savory, delicious sauce.
Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a day of remembrance celebrated with sugar skulls, marigolds, sharing memories our of loved who have passed and Comida. During the month leading up to Día de Los Muertos, I like to cook recipes that my loved ones enjoyed. Cooking these recipes with my daughters allows me to share family recipes, share with them special memories of their loved ones all while spending time with them in the kitchen creating new memories.
Mole was my abuelito Angel’s favorite dish, he loved it when my Abuelita made mole and often asked my mami to make it for him when he visited us during the summer. My mami thought is was hilarious that he requested this dish during the hottest time of the year, but she always made it for him.
Mole is a rich, dark complex sauce made with chile peppers, chocolate and many more ingredients. Mole Negro is one of the most popular moles that is symbolically prepared during Day of the Dead. Mole is an intricate, time-consuming sauce to make and often mole recipes are passed down through family generations. Each family incorporates their own personal touches, flavors which creates a loving mole sauce recipe that is shared from one generation to the next. I love this, comida is a personal statement of Amor that we share with our loved ones.
Traditionally Mole is freshly ground on a metate, requires a pantry’s worth of ingredients and usually takes several days to prepare.
Today I am sharing a quick and easy mole recipe that you can make any day of the week. I’ve streamlined the ingredients list to include easy swap out ingredients. My mole sauce can be served over poached chicken, shredded rotisserie-style chicken or baked chicken.
But this simplified version doesn’t skimp on flavor. Mexican chocolate adds a sweet complexity to the smoky, savory sauce, while the chiles add a savory, rich flavor.
TIPS ON TO HOW TO MAKE THIS QUICK AND EASY MOLE
- This sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat before serving.
- Serve with poached chicken or shredded chicken
- Swap out seeds for ground spices: 1 teaspoon coriander seeds for 1 teaspoon ground coriander (I’ve added swap out on recipe also)
- Remove stem and seeds from chile before adding to your pot.
- Simmering will soften almonds; this will help when blending your mole sauce.
- Blend in batches – do not overfill your blender and carefully blend on low since the sauce is warm.
- For this recipe you can use raisins or figs – they both work perfectly.
- When storing mole sauce, keep the container covered to avoid drying out the mole sauce and absorbing unpleasant odors and flavors from the fridge.
- Poached fully cooked chicken breasts or chicken thighs
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds or whole almonds
- 6 large garlic cloves sliced
- 4 teaspoons cumin seeds or 4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 teaspoons coriander seeds or 4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 3 dried guajillo chiles stem removed, seeded
- 2 dried ancho chiles stem removed, seeded
- 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 2 cups orange juice
- 1/4 cup raisins or figs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 3.1-ounce disk Mexican chocolate
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Sesame seeds optional
- Warm flour tortillas
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Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and sauté until lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add almonds, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Sauté, stirring continuously until almonds and garlic begin to lightly brown, about 2 minutes. Add chiles and stir until beginning to soften, an additional 2 minutes.
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Add chicken broth, orange juice, raisins and oregano. Cover and simmer until chiles are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat; add chocolate. Let stand until chocolate melts and sauce mixture cools slightly, about 15 minutes.
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Working in small batches, transfer sauce mixture to blender and puree until smooth; return to reserved pot. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm over poached chicken, garnish with sesame seeds, fresh cilantro and warm tortillas.
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DO AHEAD: Can be made 3 days ahead. Chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat before serving.
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