The Mexican Cook Book (1971) – Mole Poblano

Wallace, George and Inger. The Mexican Cook Book. Concord, CA: Nitty Gritty Productions, 1971. [TX716 .M4 W35 1971]

By special request from one of our readers, we return again to George and and Inger Wallace’s The Mexican Cook Book (1971) to share the Wallace’s recipe for Mole Poblano. In the recipe’s introduction, Wallace presents one of the many speculative theories on mole’s origin. For more on the possible origins of mole, see the Mole Poblano post from September 2012.

Mole Poblano (122-123)

“Credited to divine inspiration in the Convent of Santa Rosa of 16^th-century Puebla, this was probably a royal fiesta dish pre-dating the Conquest. The sauce alone contained 29 ingredients and took more than a day to prepare.

Today the spices and seasonings are obtainable already blended in Mole Poblano pastes and powders, and satisfactorily simulated in the modified and excellent recipe given below.”

• 4 pounds chicken breasts, halved
• Oil for frying
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 small tortilla, cut into strips
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup blanched almonds
• 1 T sesame seeds
• 1 T cilantro (or parsley)
• ½ pound tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T mild chile powder
• ½ t each: cumin, cloves, cinnamon, coriander seeds, anise, sugar
• ¾ t salt
• 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 3 cups chicken broth.

Brown the chicken on all sides in hot oil; set aside.

Blend the next 8 ingredients to a smooth paste. Add chile powder, seasonings, and melted chocolate.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan; fry the above sauce 5 minutes, lowering the heat as soon as sauce is in the pan; stir to prevent burning.

Stir in the broth, add chicken, cover pan; simmer over low heat 30 minutes.

Serve with a green salad, Mexican rice, and hot tortillas.