Ancho Chili and Peanut Mole

Name: Ancho Chili and Peanut Mole
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Ingredients: 4 dried ancho chilies; 1 onion (peeled and quartered); 3 cloves of garlic (peeled); 3 vine tomatoes; 2 tablespoons chipotle paste; 60 g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids); 75 g unsalted peanuts; 75 g almonds; 50 g pumpkin seeds; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 75 g raisins; 25 g sesame seeds; 750 ml vegetable stock; 1.5 kg new potatoes; 600 g banana shallots (peeled and halved); 500 g butternut squash (peeled and cut into large chunks); 0 olive oil; 0 the kernels from 3 corn on the cob or tinned/frozen kernels (about 400g); 0 fresh coriander; 0 tortillas; 0 zest and juice from one unwaxed lime

8 steps

Prep:1hCook:45min

This recipe requires a bit of love but creates the most rich, rounded, deeply fruity chili sauce which you can use to flavor roast vegetables, add to beans in tacos, burritos, or use for a traditional mole stew. Homemade flour tortillas work perfectly with the mole, too, and it can be heated up throughout the week as well.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 05:35:31 GMT

Ingredients

8 servings

Instructions

Step 1

Start by removing and discarding the seeds and stems from the dried ancho chilis, then lightly dry roast them in a large heavy-based pan, taking care not to burn them. Remove from the pan and soak in a heatproof bowl of just-boiled water for 20 minutes. If you are using dried red chili flakes instead, then just toast but don't soak them.

Step 2

Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper. Half fill with water and bring to the boil, then add the onion, garlic, and tomatoes with a good pinch of salt. Turn down to a simmer for ten minutes or until the skin on the tomatoes starts to come away and the onion is soft.

Step 3

Drain the boiled onion, garlic, and tomatoes and the soaked ancho chilis, but reserve the chili water. Put into a food processor and blitz on a high speed with 200ml of the reserved chili water and the chipotle paste until really smooth. Add the chocolate, broken into pieces, while the mixture is still warm so that the chocolate melts.

Step 4

Toast the nuts, pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds and raisins in a pan. You want them to be golden and well toasted, so don't be afraid to take them a little further than you usually would. Add the sesame seeds for the last few minutes to toast, then add everything to the food processor containing the chocolate mix, along with the stock and a good pinch of salt and blitz until it is sooth and silky. Tip the liquid back into the pan and add a bit more stock if you want the texture to be a little looser.

Step 5

For the roast vegetables, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan. Put all the vegetables, except the corn, into your largest roasting tray (you might need two if yours are small), cutting any large potatoes in half. Pour over a good glug of olive oil, 8 tablespoons of the mole sauce, season with salt and pepper, then give everything a good mix with your hands so it is all coated in the lovely smoky sauce.

Step 6

Roast in the oven for 35 minutes, adding the corn halfway through and giving everything a shake, until the shallots are soft and sticky, the potatoes and squash are soft and the corn is a little crispy.

Step 7

Gently heat the mole through, then spoon a few spoonfuls of the silky sauce into the bottom of each bowl or plate. Top with the roast vegetables and charred corn, a little fresh coriander, tortillas and a squeeze of lime.

Step 8

Save any leftover sauce and store in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze in portions for later (it will last in the freezer for up to three months).