Name: Reddish Mole (Coloradito)
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 5 cloves, or ⅛ teaspoon ground; 6 sprigs fresh Mediterranean oregano or ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano; ¼ cup lard (preferably home-rendered), or vegetable oil; Half of a 3-ounce tablet Mexican chocolate; 5 whole black peppercorns; 1 small onion, coarsely chopped; 6 to 8 cups homemade chicken or pork stock, with the resulting 3 cups cooked meat shredded and reserved; 3 medium ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped; 6 garlic cloves, minced; ⅓ small ripe plantain, or about a 4-inch chunk, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup); 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; 1 thick slice day-old challah or brioche; ¾ cup blanched almonds; 3 tablespoons sesame seeds; ¼ cup dark raisins; 4 ancho chiles, tops and seeds removed; 4 guajillo chiles, tops and seeds removed; One 2-inch piece canela; ½ bunch or 1 small bunch fresh thyme, about 2 dozen sprigs

Preparation info

4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Food and Life of Oaxaca

By Zarela Martínez

Published 1997

About

Call it Mole Coloradito if you want to stand on ceremony, but everyone in Oaxaca just says Coloradito. There are many versions, some made with chocolate and some without. This one comes from one of my favorite restaurants in Oaxaca City, Casa de la Abuela (“Grandmother’s House”), which is named for the grandmother of the present owner, Jaime Martinez. For years she lived and worked at the site on the northwest corner of the Zócalo, running a family business in religious articles that