Here is yet another unique take on Molé. This Easy Molé Rojo recipe came from Ixtapa, Oaxaca by Diana Kennedy. This is the chocolatey, rich molé many of us are familiar with only with fewer ingredients. Unlike the all-day process of so many molés this one takes only 90 minutes to prepare. With charred ingredients and without nuts and raisins this molé has a dark, almost tending toward bitter flavor.

This recipe is can be gluten free by using gluten free bread, and can be vegetarian if you use vegetable broth instead of the animal-based broth.

The Chiles

The chiles for this molé are Anchos, Guajillos and Moritas. If you can’t find them locally they are available from spicesinc.com.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Easy Molé Rojo:

The Ingredients For Easy Molé Rojo

• 7 Ancho Chiles, stems and seeds removed
• 5 Guajillo Chiles stems and seeds removed
• 3 Morita Chiles
• 1/2 Cup Oil (Lard, Duck Fat, Bacon Drippings, Vegetable Oil)
• 2 Peppercorn, crushed
• 1″ Piece of Cinnamon, crushed
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1/8 tsp Thyme
• 1/2 Onion, cut into thick slices
• 1 lb Tomatoes cut into quarters
• 6 Garlic Cloves, unpeeled
• 2 Slices Gluten Free Bread toasted very dark
• 2 Oz Baking Chocolate
• 4 Cups Broth (Turkey, Chicken or Vegetable)

This molé has few ingredients compared to other molés we have made. Chiles, Onion, Garlic, Tomato, Pepper, Cinnamon, 1 Bay Leaf, Thyme, Bread, Chocolate and Broth are enough to make this molé sing. Charring the ingredients contributes to the dark, intense flavor.

Prepare the Dried Chiles

To begin we need to remove the stems and seeds from the Ancho and Guajillo chiles and tear them into flat pieces for frying. The Moritas are already stemless and we will keep their seeds so we don’t have to do anything to them at this point. To help get flat pieces we used shears to open the chiles along one edge, remove the seeds and tear into two pieces. This worked great. The Anchos we have were smashed pretty thoroughly when they were dried and this method worked a lot better than trying to pull them apart.

Blacken the Onion and Garlic

Cut the onion into thick slices and put them in a pan with the unpeeled garlic. Put this under the broiler for about 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until they blacken some. The time will vary depending on the distance from the broiler, thickness of slices, etc. Allow to cool enough to handle and then peel the garlic.

Toast the Bread

While we have the broiler hot, toast the bread dark.

Cook the Tomatoes

Cut the tomatoes into quarters and then put them in a pot with 2 cups of the broth. Bring that to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Alternatively you can cook the tomatoes under the broiler for 10 minutes. We like doing this in the pot because the tomatoes get really messy after being under the broiler.

Cook the Dried Chiles In Oil

Seeding and cooking the chiles is the most time consuming part of this recipe. To cook the chiles, put 1/4 cup of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Duck fat, bacon grease, lard, vegetable oil will all work. We like using animal fat for molé but it’s up to you. Then put the chile pieces in the pan, do this a couple at a time, press down on them with a wooden spoon and then turn them over. They should take about 30 seconds to cook. Remove to a plate and then repeat with the other chile strips. The Moritas go in the oil whole and cook until they puff up. Be careful not to burn the chiles. You should see some bubbling of the skins. Once they cool the chiles should be crispy.

Blend the Onions, Garlic and Spices and Cook Them

Now we put the onions and peeled garlic in the blender with 1 cup of broth, the thyme, bay leaf, the smashed peppercorns and cinnamon. This gets blended until smooth. Put 1/4 cup of oil – again, duck fat, bacon grease, lard, vegetable oil will all work – in a large stockpot. Add the onion mixture and then cook for 5 minutes.

Blend the Chiles

Blend the chiles with one cup of the broth until smooth. If you need to add more broth to get it to blend properly then you can. The chiles should be crispy so crumbling them as they go into the blender or smashing them down with a wooden spoon can help. Add those to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes. You’ll want to scrape most of the chile paste out of the blender but it’s okay if a little is left behind.

Blend the Tomatoes, Broth and Bread

Lastly, put the tomatoes and broth in the blender, crumble in the bread and blitz until smooth. This goes into the pot with everything else.

Add the Chocolate

This is when we add the chocolate, as well. Stir this thoroughly and then cook for 20 minutes. You’ll need to stir this occasionally to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The bread will make it thicken as it cooks.

This Easy Molé Is Done!

This is the molé done in just about 90 minutes. It is quite thick and you can thin it with additional broth if you want. We used this molé to make turkey enchiladas and didn’t thin it at all. It was really good! If you want a molé rojo with more subtleties I recommend taking longer and making the Traditional Molé Rojo here but then this molé hits the right notes with a lot less work.

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Here are some more molé recipes for you to try:

• Molé Colorado
• Molé Verde
• Molé Amarillo
• Classic Molé Rojo
• Molé Coloradito
• Molé Chuchilo Negro
• Molé Manchamanteles
• Molé Poblano
• Oaxacan Molé Negro

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