You can do fabulous things with pumpkins aside from spooky faces and pumpkin pie… Just ask any Mexican. We have a way with pumpkins.
Native to Mexico, pumpkins have been devoured there for centuries, in their entirety. The seeds are addicting as snacks, used as a hefty base for salsas, soups and sauces and more recently sprinkled on top of many dishes. The pumpkin meat is used for soups and stews, and along with the entire rind cooked in a piloncillo syrup, becoming a traditional favorite known as Tacha.
Yet there is something else you can make with those fall pumpkins: Mole!
An easy to make, silky textured and exquisite tasting mole sauce, that can bathe anything you can think of. From chicken to meat, fish, seafood and veggies; it all goes beautifully swaddled in it. I like it mostly with chicken or turkey, which is how I am most used to eating thick and rich Mole sauces….
So that you can try it too, here it goes.
As simple as it is to make, it uses two ancient and crucial techniques of Mexican cooking that enhance the flavors of the ingredients and bring a ton of personality to a dish: charring and toasting.
First the onion and garlic take a quick turn under the broiler to be charred. Their sharp, crisp and pungent flavors become transformed…
…as if their alter ego came out to show depth and sweetness. While at the same time becoming a bit rustic.
Then the ancho chiles, almonds, cinnamon, allspice and whole cloves take a turn either in a skillet or comal, to lightly toast.
Toasting them intensifies and deepens their flavor, it releases new aromas and adds a kind of warmth to the dish.
As the chiles have been dried for a long time, aside from giving them a light toast, you need to rehydrate them and plump them back to life. And it takes just 10 minutes of soaking them in a hot bath.
Then you also use that water from the chile bath, as it has some of the intense flavors and colors of the chiles, as well as the chiles to make the Mole Sauce.
Then everything in the blender goes!
If you used True or Ceylon cinnamon, puree it along with the rest of the ingredients. As it is light and thin, it crumbles and purees easily. It is gentle and kind to the blades of the blender. If you only found the hard Cassia kind, use it to simmer in the mole sauce further on.
Then you add it all along with the pumpkin puree in a big pot. You can use already made pumpkin puree from the store…
Or make your own pumpkin puree with those extra pumpkins that are sitting on your front porch… Making the puree is pretty simple: Quarter the pumpkin, remove the seeds and fibers, roast in the oven at 400 ºF until soft and process the pumpkin meat in a blender of food processor until smooth.
After you simmer the pumpkin puree along with the ancho chile puree (that has the charred and toasted ingredients), it will look like this. Incredibly rich, just like its flavor.
You can make the Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole ahead of time, and just heat it when you are ready to serve it.
Topping it with toasted pumpkin seeds makes the dish all the more fabulous. You can taste it already, right?
Pumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole
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Ingredients
- 1/2 white onion peeled, charred or broiled
- 6 garlic cloves charred or broiled, peeled
- 3 ancho chiles stemmed, seeded and opened
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 5 whole cloves
- 1/2 stick true or ceylon cinnamon about 1 inch (or substitute for 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 8 whole allspice berries or 1/8 teaspoon ground
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree about 1 3/4 cup
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds lightly toasted
To Prepare
- Place the onion and garlic in a baking sheet under the broiler. Char for 9 to 10 minutes, flipping once in between. Once they are soft and charred, remove from the heat. When the garlic is cool, peel.
- In an already hot skillet or comal set over medium-low heat, toast the ancho chiles for about 15 to 20 seconds per side, until they brown and crisp without burning. Place toasted ancho chiles in a bowl covered with boiling water. Soak for 10 to 15 minutes until they are plumped up and rehydrated.
- In the same skillet or comal, toast the cloves and all spice until aromatic, about a minute. Remove from the heat. Toast the almonds and cinnamon, stirring often, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Place the onion, garlic, chiles, 1/2 cup of chile soaking liquid, almonds, cloves, cinnamon and allspice in the blender and puree until smooth.
- In a soup pot or casserole, heat the oil and pour the pureed mixture over medium heat. Add the salt and sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently to help prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. The color will darken considerably.
- Add the pumpkin puree and chicken broth to the sauce. Stir well until the pumpkin puree has dissolved, it will have a silky consistency. Continue to cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Use the mole sauce to pour over grilled, broiled or boiled chicken, meat or fish. Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds for some added flavor and crunch.
Comments
47comments inPumpkin and Ancho Chile Mole
Traci
Nov 17
Amazing flavor and very versatile. I made the recipe as written but added an extra ancho chili and then let it all simmer for the afternoon. It was very delicious on fish, chicken and also served it over polenta with poached eggs! Yum, yum!
Pati Jinich
Nov 21
Wow, so delicious ideas Traci, thanks for sharing!
Shawn
Sep 08
Oh, one more thing. I had a half a butternut squash in the fridge from earlier in the week and used that instead of canned pumpkin.
Pati
Sep 10
Great!
Shawn Dougherty
Sep 08
Just made this last night. I cooked some thinly sliced steak with peppers and onions, then wrapped that in corn tortillas. Placed those in a baking dish and poured this Mole over top and baked for 30 minuets. It was pretty much amazing.
Pati
Sep 10
Sounds super yum, Shawn!
Amanda
May 10
Hi,
I’d like to use this mole on a pork shoulder and slow cook in the oven, would this turn the mole bitter if cooked at 250°F for 4 to 6hrs?
Pati
May 16
The mole will be fine that way…just add 3 to 4 cups of chicken broth.
Fred
Feb 07
This recipe was delicious. Light, healthy, and flavorful. We roasted chicken, cut it up and bathed it in the mole sauce with corn tortillas on the side. I tried to omit the sugar but ended up adding a 3/4 teaspoon to sweeten the pumpkin.
Pati
Feb 08
Nice!
Susan G
Apr 25
Luke, don’t know where you live however there is a wonderful
spice shop online to check out:
savoryspice.com
You can order the ancho spice powder form or dried chili. The powder is always fresh.
Luke
Apr 29
Hi Susanm thanks for your reply!
I live in Brasil, the issue i have is that the importation of the Dried or ground Mexican chiles is illegal.. i’ve tried a bunch of the online stores but none of them will ship to Brsail unfortunately!
Luke
Apr 25
Another delicious sounding recipe!! Congratulations 🙂
A quick question, hopefully you can give me an idea..
Where i live it is not possible to get Ancho.. they are even illegal to import..
I read an article about ancho chiles that said:
Distinct aromas of sun-dried tomatoes, raisins, chocolate, and coffee. Some of the best-known Mexican chilies, like Ancho, Mulato, and Pasilla, are in this category.
As i have never tasted one and have no way of knowing.. from what i read could i somehow substitute the Ancho flavours but adding some sun dried tomatos, raisins, chocolate and coffee?
Thanks in advance
Pati
Apr 29
I think you can find Ancho chiles very easily on line, could you try that?
David
Jan 20
I love this recipe! I’m going to make it with vegetarian friends and we were thinking to make pumpkin stuffed burritos to go with it (obviously the mole sauce is the star so anything else accompanies the sauce!) What else could you use it for with vegetarian dishes? Congrats on the website – lovely recipes 🙂
Pati
Feb 02
Hola David, Thank you for your message! You can use it with any vegetables you can imagine & enjoy!!
Lisa Hartman
Dec 23
I made this for Christmas and since my family does not eat any animal products, I used an intense veggie broth. I served this with tamales and fish. And since some members in our party are gluten and lactose intolerant, this is the perfect dish to share with anyone! Thank you.
Pati
Dec 23
Thank you, Lisa!
alison
Oct 29
Gracias Pati!
I cannot wait to try this recipe on Friday. Do you have any vegetarian suggestions to serve the mole on? Tamales perhaps?
I really enjoyed the NPR show – thank you!
Pati
Oct 30
Hola Alison, You can serve it over any of your favorite vegetables! Tamales sound great, too!!
susan
Oct 27
I love the receipt. I must confess, I added raisins and roasted skinless peanuts and no brown sugar.
Heavenly. This mole was not red, but nice dark yellow. I think I heard you on NPR and heard about the receipt.
Thanks Pati, It is a winner.
Pati
Oct 27
Great to hear!
Dana Lee
Oct 10
Hola Pati!
What a lovely and beautiful looking Autumn mole, I am vegetarian and one thing sadly left behind was chicken mole that my friend from Oaxaca taught me to make. Dark rich chocolate mole. all I needed were some tortillas and privacy. I am going to try this mole recipe (veggie broth instead of chicken) you have shared over chunks of roasted fall vegetables. I will let you know the results which I am sure will be good because after all, it is mole!
happiness!
Dana
San Diego CA
Dana Lee
Mar 14
I love this mole recipe, I can’t wait to try it. I am going to use it over squashes and green beans. I refuse to give up mole because I am vegetarian. Give me a bib and a quiet place…
Bill O
Nov 19
Pati,
I am so excited that I found your show. I am third generation mexican, but my grandmother really didn’t pass our culture along to my father, and our family, so I am trying to re-learn Mexican culture. I have wanted smoe REAL mexican recipes, not tacos and burritos, but cousine. I tried the pumpkin mole, and my wife said it was the best meal I’ve made for her in the 10 years we’ve been together. I absolutely loved it!
Thank you, and keep the recipes coming!!
~ Bill
Pati Jinich
Nov 26
Hola Bill, I love your story about making the pumpkin mole for your wife! Thank you so much for sharing it with me. I hope you will try more of my recipes. All the best to you.
Cristina S
Oct 25
Hola Pati: this recipe sounds deliciosa , so I’m making it this weekend for my family, every time I see you on t.v. I feel like home, full of memories of my childhood in Mexico. Thank you for showcasing the real Mexican food..
Cristina S.
Chantal
Sep 16
Pati, thank you so much for posting this pumpkin mole…I thought it sounded so good I immediatly double the recipee to freeze some for the fall..it just finished cooking and it tastes delicious! I had some super dried Anchos, so they didn’t rehydrate as well as yours did and so the sauce is more black then reddisch, but tasty never the less
Pati Jinich
Sep 17
Hola, Chantal. I’m so glad your pumpkin mole turned out delicious…no matter what the color. What a great idea to make a big batch and freeze!
Susanne
Nov 17
I’m going to love this! I had an abundant Hubbard crop this year and am constantly looking for good ways to use it. Mexican dish and pumpkin can only turn out great. I wonder how to much ANcho powder to use though as that’s all I can find in Germany. Bye, Susanne
Pati Jinich
Nov 17
Hola Susanne, I would say about 1 tsp ancho powder per ancho chile. But, I would add 1 tsp at a time and test before adding more, because sometimes the powder is much more concentrated than the chiles. I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Susanne Ramcke
Nov 19
Thanks for your quick reply. Tomorrow will be Pumpkin Roasting Day.
Tschüss sagt Susanne
Marisol
Nov 09
Hola pati.Lo que haces es impresionante con tan pocos ingredientes!Y tan simple pero con mucho sabor.Esta SI ES comida mexicana.Nacida aqui,en E.U.,de padres mexicanos jamas habia visto algo como lo que tu haces.Vemos tacos duros,cheese dip,etc.Pero nada cercano a lo que Mexico realmente es.Yo estoy muy orgullosa de ser mexicana y voy aprendiendo mucho de mi cultura gracias a ti.Es hermoso nunca olvidar la patria de uno,y de donde vienen las raices de uno.Mil gracias de nuevo. 🙂
Pati
Oct 09
Marisol:
Muchas gracias por tu lindísimo mensaje, en verdad lo aprecio mucho.
Adrianne S
Nov 06
This is a great light mole – good for around my house because I’m the only one who likes the really dark moles. My only suggestion is to put the toasted spices into the coffee mill and grind them up really fine before adding to the blender. My blender didn’t do a real good job on the cloves and cinnamon.
Pati
Oct 09
Great idea Adrianne: did you use true or Ceylon cinnamon? It is much softer and crumbles much easier than cassia…. You can also use ground cinnamon…
Melissa Cannon
Nov 06
I am so excited to get your cookbook! Do you know when it will be published? I enjoy your show.
Pati Jinich
Nov 07
Hola Melissa, I do not know the exact date yet. Once I do, I will be sure to let everyone know! 🙂
Carla B.
Oct 31
Tried this for on top of roasted turkey breast. It smelled wonderful during the toasting stages on the hot dry skillet. My blender is mediocre quality, so I had to strain it to get rid of the bits of dried chile skin, and because of this, I added the liquid to the chile/spice puree before heating everything. Maybe that was a mistake? It ended up needing something…a sour note, I decided, and I added some lime juice, which improved it, but still, it wasn’t as amazing as the initial aromas…
Pati
Oct 09
I find that the broth or stock used really has an impact: make sure that you are using a well seasoned and tasty one!
Maria
Oct 25
Hi, this recipe is fabulous! I love all of your Mexican and Hispanic recipes that you’ve posted for National Hispanic Heritage Month. I enjoyed this super original recipe using pumpkin for mole, so much that I shared it with my readers with a link back to you. I look forward to more wonderful food photos and recipes from you in the future. Best, Maria
Pati
Oct 09
Thanks!
danny salazar
Oct 25
Hola Pati, I love all of your recipes and the dishes that you prepare, my question, can I use ground allspice instead of the berries? and how much, my famila want me to prepare this dish we all love pumpkin too. hope you have a great Halloween weekend. thank you
Pati Jinich
Oct 25
Many thanks Danny! Yes, you can use ground allspice instead… I would do a pinch. Have a great Halloween weekend to!
John C. Campbell III
Oct 25
Pati? Fragon!! this looks great!! (I’m diabetic can I leave out the sugar you think? Pumpkin is supposed to be good for diabetics by the way. jccampb
Pati Jinich
Oct 25
Good! Yes you can leave out the sugar for sure… but you may want to add something that you can use instead, it does beg for a bit of sweetener…
Marlene
Oct 25
Thank you for the fun ideas!! We have just moved to Arizona and I will share your name and web site with all my new friends!! happy holidays!!