I’ve always been intrigued by mole sauce. Probably because it contains chocolate (something I love) and it was the first time that I had chocolate as part of a main course. In doing some reading about mole sauce, I’ve learned that it’s often made for special occasions in Mexico – this makes sense as it does take some time to prepare. Stories of its origin surround making a special meal for a visiting archbishop to a convent or monastery and something wonderful coming from a mix (‘mole’ was an old word for ‘mix’) of many ingredients.   

I’ve dabbled in making mole sauces over my cooking career. Most have been more work than this one. While the list of ingredients may be long, I assure you that it’s not difficult to make. The end result is so tasty that you’ll be glad you spent the time. This recipe makes a lot – I used it on grilled chicken (brushed on at the end), nachos and froze smaller portions for future meals.

I was inspired to make these nachos for a recent Cinco de Mayo Gourmet Dinner Club (GDC). Everyone contributed wonderful pieces to the meal, but our hostess outdid herself by making homemade tamales. Like this sauce they were a labor of love. My nachos were pretty well received, too.

A recipe for nachos is more of a suggestion as you can add or subtract whatever you like. In this case, I recommend doing a layer of chips, topping that with mole sauce then black beans, scallions, cilantro and cheese and then repeating – so you have two layers. The mole sauce is thick – in order to spread it more easily put it in a ziplock bag, snip off a tiny piece of the end (you can always cut off more) and pipe it over each chip base. I used cotija cheese which is a Mexican cheese with a similar flavor to feta. If you can’t find cotija, substitute crumbled feta.

A reminder that this sauce is great for nachos, but also goes well on grilled chicken or as a sauce for burritos, enchiladas or tacos.

Gluten-Free/Wheat-Free Note:  This mole sauce is gluten-free. That is not the case with all sauces as they often contain bread used as thickener.

Mole Nachos

 

Mole Nachos
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Recipe type: Appetizer
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Mole Sauce:
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons mild olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
  • 6 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 3 ounces pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • 1 ounce negro chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • 1 ounce ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • 4 large orange peel strips (orange part only)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 (3.1-ounce) disk Mexican chocolate, chopped
Nachos:
  • 6 ounces tortilla chips
  • 1-1/2 cups mole sauce
  • 1-1/2 cups black beans
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • ⅓ chopped fresh cilantro
  • 6 ounces cotija, shredded
Instructions
  1. Mole Sauce:
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth and orange juice over medium heat until simmering. Keep warm.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in large pot (at least 5 quarts) over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and beginning to caramelize, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add ¼ cup water as needed if onions are sticking (this helps in the caramelizing process).
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add almonds, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Stirring occasionally, heat until nuts and garlic begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add chiles and stir until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
  5. Pour heated chicken broth-orange mixture into pot with onions, spices and chiles.
  6. Add raisins, orange peel, and oregano to pot and stir. Cover and simmer on low heat until chiles are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let stand until chocolate melts and sauce mixture cools slightly, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Working in small batches, transfer sauce mixture to food processor, blender or Vitamix and purée until smooth. Store, covered, in refrigerator for two weeks until ready to use or freeze for up to six months. Makes 6 to 7 cups.
  9. Nachos:
  10. Preheat oven to 350°F. Position oven rack close to the broiler element.
  11. Cover a medium-sized cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  12. Cover pan with half the chips. Pipe half the mole sauce over the chips. Top black beans, scallions, cilantro and cheese. Repeat with second layer in the same method.
  13. Bake at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes (this ensures everything is warm) and then broil for another 5 minutes (this ensures that the cheese melts). Watch to ensure that nothing is burning.
  14. Serve immediately.
  15. You can serve from the cookie sheet or slide the nachos with parchment paper onto a platter.
Notes
Mole Sauce:
* I went to a small local market to find chiles and Mexican chocolate. There was a much better chile selection than my local grocery store. I recommend Ibarra chocolate. It’s traditionally used for Mexican hot chocolate. I grew up drinking it for special occasions.
* I recommend a mixture of chile peppers, but if you can’t find a variety, you can use all ancho peppers which are readily available.
Nachos:
* Instead of canned beans you can cook up a batch of Dried Black Beans.
* I used cotija cheese which is a Mexican cheese with a similar flavor to feta. It's hard cheese, so you'll need to grate it. If you can’t find cotija, substitute crumbled feta.
* Recipe serves 4 as an appetizer and 2 as a main course.
* Recipe can be doubled using two cookie sheets. You can bake both and then broil each sheet individually.
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