Mole Poblano: Chocolate in a Savoury Sauce

Not a chocolate sauce

Mole poblano is often described as chocolate sauce, which surprises people who expect dessert. In fact chocolate is only one of many ingredients, usually a small amount, used to round out the bitterness of dried chiles and add depth. The sauce is savoury, spicy, slightly sweet and complex.

What goes in

Recipes vary by family, but a classic mole poblano includes several dried chiles such as ancho, mulato and pasilla, toasted and soaked; nuts and seeds like almonds, peanuts and sesame; dried fruit such as raisins; tomatoes, onion and garlic; spices including cinnamon, clove, black pepper and anise; tortilla or bread to thicken; and Mexican chocolate. Everything is toasted, ground and simmered for a long time.

History

The word mole comes from the Nahuatl molli, meaning sauce. Mexico has a long tradition of chile sauces, and colonial-era ingredients like almonds, cinnamon and sugar mixed with Mesoamerican chiles, tomatoes and cacao to create mole poblano. Puebla, a city famous for its cooking, is its home, though legends about its exact origin vary and cannot be confirmed.

Eating mole

Mole poblano is a celebration dish served at weddings, birthdays and big family gatherings, typically over turkey or chicken and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Oaxaca is famous for its seven moles, including the very dark mole negro. Ready-made mole pastes make it easier to try at home: thin the paste with stock and simmer before adding cooked chicken.

Tasting notes

A good mole poblano should taste layered: first the warmth of spices, then the fruity heat of the chiles, then a gentle sweetness from raisins and chocolate, with nutty depth from almonds and sesame. It should never taste like a dessert. Making mole from scratch takes most of a day, which is why families often cook large batches together for celebrations.

Did you know? Many cooks say mole tastes even better the next day, after the flavours have rested and blended.

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