Mole Paste

Name: Mole Paste (Pasta de Mole)
Yield: Makes 6–8½-cup portions
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: ¼ cup roasted pepitas; 2 5-inch corn tortillas; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves; 1 teaspoon dried marjoram; ½ ounce Mexican tablet chocolate (like Abuelita), chopped; 1½ ounces pasilla chiles (4–5 large pods); 1½ ounces guajillo chiles (5–8 pods) (also known as cascavel); 5 ounces ancho chiles; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided; 3 tablespoons sesame seeds; 1 2-inch long cinnamon stick, broken into pieces; 1 tablespoons whole cumin seeds; ⅓ cup roasted peanuts; ¼ cup sliced almonds; 2 large cloves garlic; 1 cup white onion, sliced; 1 tablespoon raisins; 2 tablespoons mashed banana

Pasta de Mole

Preparation info

Makes
6–8½ cup
portions

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

My South Texas Kitchen

By Yvette Zuniga Jemison

Published 2022

About

Mole paste is a rich blend of ingredients that my great-grandmother ground by hand while kneeling and crushing the ingredients on a grinding stone known as a metate. Making mole paste is labor intensive, however, you’ll make it with the ease of a blender and a food processor. The recipe yields a large batch that is divided into half-cup portions, wrapped and frozen. You’ll use the paste as a base to make mole sauce in dishes such as Chicken Mole and