The secret to making decadent Mexican mole at home, according to a Los Cabos chef

Welcome to Clubhouse Eats, where we celebrate the game’s most delectable food and drink. Hope you brought your appetites.

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Valentine’s Day tradition often involves giving chocolates to enjoy on their own, but this year we suggest mixing it up — literally. Cooking with chocolate adds a savory twist to the tradition, and there may be no more famous a savory chocolate dish than traditional Mexican mole.

At LaFrida Restaurant, a fine-dining establishment at Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Golf & Spa Resort in Los Cabos, Chef Anaisa Guevara reveals that the traditional sauce recipe for the restaurant’s most popular Mole Negro included 100 ingredients. Today, LaFrida’s culinary team has scaled back that list, but the total number of ingredients is still extensive. In particular, Chef Guevara points to three that are most important when making a superb mole: chocolate, dried chili peppers, and corn tortilla ashes.

LaFrida’s Mole Negro shines over enchiladas with duck carnitas — a standout dish on the restaurant’s menu — but the sauce can enhance a number of meats. It’s also great over rice and is a delicious accompaniment to classic bolillo—a Mexican bread similar to French baguettes.

When amateur cooks attempt to make a mole like this at home (see recipe below), Chef Guevara acknowledges that they commit two egregious mistakes. First, they add chicken stock, which turns the sauce into a consommé. They also rush the process, which is a cardinal sin when crafting a mole. “The biggest secret is to cook it very slowly,” she says. “It’s a sauce that requires time, so be patient during the preparation and enjoy the process.”

Food

LaFrida’s Mole Negro

Makes about 1.5 gallons

Ingredients:

Spices/Seeds/Cereals

60g Amaranth
60g unsalted peanuts
60g sesame seeds
20g star anise
60g pumpkin seeds
20g whole cinnamon sticks
10g cloves
10g black peppercorns
10g ground black pepper
40g avocado leaf
10g oregano
60g walnuts
60g almonds
100g cocoa powder
10g laurel
60g raisins

Food

Dried chilies

1 Guajillo Pepper
1 Cascabel Chile
1 Chile Pasilla
1 Ancho Chile
1 Smoked Chipotle
1 Chile Chilhuacle

Vegetables

300g tomatillo (chopped)
600g Saladette tomato (chopped)
400g white onion (chopped)
200g plantain (chopped)
40g garlic cloves (peeled)

Others

60g dark chocolate
200g Corn tortilla ashes*

*To make corn tortilla ashes, place the tortillas directly over the flame from a stovetop burner or in the oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the tortillas begin to burn, remove them from the heat and pulverize them in a blender or food processor.

Preparation:

In a frying pan, over medium heat toast the dried chiles, being careful not to burn them. Once toasted, remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, add some canola oil. When the oil is shimmering add the onion, garlic, tomatillo, tomato, and plantain and fry over medium heat until all ingredients are well-cooked on all sides.

Coat a separate pan in canola, and over medium heat, brown all of the spices, seeds, and cereals, being careful not to let them burn.

Mix the vegetables and the fried spices in a deep pot and cook over medium heat for one hour. Then add enough water to cover the mixture and cook for another hour.

Pour the mixture into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, adding water, if necessary.

Return mixture to a pot, add the chocolate and the tortilla ashes, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let the sauce cook for three hours, stirring frequently so that the sauce doesn’t stick or burn.

When done, season with salt to taste.