MOLE POBLANO SAUCE

Mole Poblano Sauce image

Provided by Dave Smith

Time 20m

Number Of Ingredients 18

2 Tbsp sesame seeds
2 Tbsp almonds, slivered
3 clove garlic
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 c raisins
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp chipotle chile pepper, ground
1/4 c chili powder
2 Tbsp baking chocolate, semi-sweet
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/8 tsp cloves, ground
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 c tomatoes, canned italian-style and diced
1/4 c panko bread crumbs
2 1/2 c chicken broth, unsalted
1 tsp cilantro, fresh

Steps:

1. Start by dry-toasting the sesame seeds and almonds until they are brown and fragrant. Put them aside in a medium bowl. This was my main dumping bowl, where I put everything once it was done cooking.
2. Next, cook a small onion, a clove of garlic and some raisins in vegetable oil. You'll know the raisins are done when they have plumped up. Once again, I dumped everything in my assembly bowl.
3. Mix a decent amount of chili powder (1/4 cup) with more vegetable oil and began toasting the powder. I added a little chipotle powder for extra heat and smokiness. Chipotles aren't one of the three required chiles in traditional mole, but they were integral to my sauce. Toast the chili powder until it begins to darken and the pan begins to smoke. Turn the heat off and stir in some unsweetened chocolate until melted. I poured the chili and chocolate mixture into my assembly bowl.
4. Add the remaining ingredients: diced tomatoes, cloves, cinnamon, salt, pepper, brown sugar and bread crumbs; stir it all together. Pour the mixture into a blender, and add a cup of chicken broth. Run the blender for at least a minute, adding more chicken broth, a splash at a time, if the thick sauce isn't moving through the blades.
5. The sauce will look pretty smooth, but if you taste it, you'll notice a slight grittiness. So you can pass the sauce through a strainer, pressing to get all of the liquid through. But if you going to use it in my Chili it will be OK like that.