Mole Rojo
Mole’s Mexican roots date back centuries, and enjoying this rich and flavorful sauce today is a huge privilege! Ivanna took on the challenge of creating a new family mole recipe, the Guajardo way, that will hopefully be passed on for generations to come. Serve with Mexican rice and tortillas, and share it with your family and friends!
Tasty Team
Total Time
5 hr 50 min
5 hr 50 min
Prep Time
20 minutes
20 min
Cook Time
5 hr
5 hr
Total Time
5 hr 50 min
5 hr 50 min
Prep Time
20 minutes
20 min
Cook Time
5 hr
5 hr
Ingredients
for 12 servings
Chicken
- 10 cups water
- 12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- ¼ white onion
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 6 garlic cloves
Mole Sauce
- 7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ¼ cup sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup almonds
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 2 star anise pods
- 4 whole cloves
- ¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 4 whole allspice berries
- 10 pitted prunes
- ⅓ cup raisins
- 1 small bollilo bread, cubed
- 1 corn tortilla, diced
- 2 dried chiles de arbol
- 3 dried ancho chiles
- 5 dried chiles moritas
- 4 roma tomatoes, halved
- ¾ white onion, cut into wedges
- 6 garlic cloves
- 2 3-ounce rounds Chocolate Abuelitas
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup all-natural smooth peanut butter
- kosher salt, to taste
- cooked Mexican rice, for serving
Nutrition Info
- Calories 457
- Fat 23g
- Carbs 26g
- Fiber 7g
- Sugar 11g
- Protein 39g
Estimated values based on one serving size.
Preparation
- Make the chicken: In a large pot, combine the water, chicken thighs, onion, bay leaves, and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the broth, reserving both.
- Make the mole: In a large pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons olive oil, then toast the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, almonds, cinnamon, cumin seeds, star anise pods, cloves, black peppercorns, and allspice berries for about 5 minutes, or until beginning to brown. Add the prunes and raisins and toast for another 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Transfer the seed mixture to a large bowl.
- In the same pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil, then toast the bread cubes and tortilla until beginning to harden and brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the toasted seeds.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan, then toast the arbol, ancho, and morita chiles until brightened in color, 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer to the pan with the toasted seeds and bread.
- Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan over medium heat, then char the tomato, onion, and garlic until browned, 4-5 minutes per side. Transfer to the bowl with the remaining ingredients.
- Add all of the toasted ingredients to a blender, along with all of the reserved chicken broth, and blend until very smooth. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your blender.
- Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium heat, pour the mole into a large pot and cook over low heat for about 2½ hours, or until the sauce has reduced by ½ inch. Then, add the chocolate, brown sugar, peanut butter, and salt and stir until evenly combined. Cook for another 2 hours, or until the mole thickens and darkens to a reddish brown color.
- Serve the mole over the chicken thighs and Mexican rice, garnished with more sesame seeds.
- Enjoy!
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