Mole poblano is the Everest of Mexican cooking — a sauce of extraordinary complexity that embodies the collision of indigenous Mesoamerican and Spanish colonial cuisines. The legendary origin story places its creation in the Santa Rosa convent in Puebla, where nuns improvised a sauce for a visiting archbishop using every ingredient they had. The truth is probably more gradual, but the romance of the story persists. A proper mole contains multiple varieties of dried chilies (ancho, mulato, pasilla, chipotle), Mexican chocolate, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, peanuts, plantain, raisins, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and over a dozen spices — each ingredient individually prepared before being combined and simmered for hours. In Oaxaca, seven distinct moles are recognized, each with its own color and character.

• 4 ancho chilies, stemmed and seeded
• 3 mulato chilies, stemmed and seeded
• 3 pasilla chilies, stemmed and seeded
• 2 chipotle chilies
• 50g Mexican chocolate (or dark chocolate + cinnamon)
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 50g pumpkin seeds
• 30g almonds
• 30g peanuts
• 1 ripe plantain, sliced
• 30g raisins
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 onion, quartered
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 corn tortilla, torn
• 1 tsp each: cinnamon, cloves, cumin, black pepper, oregano
• Turkey or chicken for serving
• Lard or oil, salt, sugar to balance

1. Toast each type of dried chili separately in a dry pan until fragrant and pliable (not burnt). Soak in hot water for 30 minutes.
2. In the same pan, individually toast the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and peanuts until golden. Each has a different toast time — watch carefully.
3. Fry the plantain slices and raisins in a little lard until caramelized. Char the tomatoes, onion, and garlic under a broiler until blackened.
4. Fry the torn tortilla until crispy. Toast the whole spices briefly.
5. Blend the soaked chilies with some of their soaking liquid into a thick paste. In batches, blend the nuts, seeds, fried plantain, raisins, charred vegetables, tortilla, and spices into a separate paste.
6. Heat lard in a large, heavy pot. Fry the chili paste for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the nut-seed paste. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add chocolate and stir until melted and incorporated.
7. Add enough broth to reach a sauce consistency that coats the back of a spoon. Simmer on the lowest heat for at least 1 hour, stirring frequently. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar to balance. Serve over turkey or chicken with rice and tortillas.