~719 cal · 63g protein · 34g carbs · 36g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Dark glossy mole sauce over chicken with sesame seeds
🇲🇽 Puebla
Mole poblano is Mexico’s baroque masterpiece, born in Puebla’s convents and built from dozens of ingredients toasted and ground in stages. The chocolate is a background note, not a dessert; a great mole balances heat, fruit, spice, and bitterness into something almost impossibly deep.
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1/3 cup + 1/4 cup + 1/4 cup almonds + sesame seeds + pumpkin seeds
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1/3 cup raisins
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1 a plantain slice
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1 tomato
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2 tomatillo
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1 stick cinnamon
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4 cloves
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1 tsp black pepper
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1/2 tsp anise
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2 oz Mexican chocolate (or dark chocolate + pinch cinnamon)
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1 + 1 slice corn tortilla + a bit of bread, toasted (to thicken)
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1 onion
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5 cloves garlic
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1/3 cup neutral oil
Instructions
1
Simmer the chicken (or roast the vegetables) in salted water; keep 4 cups of broth.
2
Toast the chiles briefly, then soak in hot broth. Separately fry the seeds, nuts, raisins, plantain, tomato, tomatillo, spices, tortilla, and bread in stages — each until fragrant.
3
Blend everything, in batches, with soaking broth into a very smooth paste — the smoothness is the craft.
4
Fry the paste in hot oil 10 minutes, stirring constantly as it darkens and thickens; add broth to a nappe sauce, then melt in the chocolate.
5
Simmer 30 minutes, seasoning with salt and a little sugar to balance. Nap the chicken (or vegetables) with mole and finish with toasted sesame. Serve with rice and tortillas.
Puebla convent tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
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Puebla. The colonial city that ground chocolate into a sauce for turkey.
🗺️
Mexico. A UNESCO-recognized cuisine older than any border.
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North America. A collision of Indigenous, colonial, and immigrant tables.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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