Mole Nachos
Author: Nicole
Ingredients
Mole Sauce:
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons mild olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • ½ cup sliced almonds
  • 6 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 3 ounces pasilla chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • 1 ounce negro chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • 1 ounce ancho chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into rough 1-inch pieces
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • 4 large orange peel strips (orange part only)
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 (3.1-ounce) disk Mexican chocolate, chopped
Nachos:
  • 6 ounces tortilla chips
  • 1-1/2 cups mole sauce
  • 1-1/2 cups black beans
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • ⅓ chopped fresh cilantro
  • 6 ounces cotija, shredded
Instructions
  1. Mole Sauce:
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat chicken broth and orange juice over medium heat until simmering. Keep warm.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoon oil in large pot (at least 5 quarts) over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and beginning to caramelize, about 20 to 25 minutes. Add ¼ cup water as needed if onions are sticking (this helps in the caramelizing process).
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add almonds, garlic, cumin, and coriander. Stirring occasionally, heat until nuts and garlic begin to color, about 2 minutes. Add chiles and stir until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes.
  5. Pour heated chicken broth-orange mixture into pot with onions, spices and chiles.
  6. Add raisins, orange peel, and oregano to pot and stir. Cover and simmer on low heat until chiles are very soft, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let stand until chocolate melts and sauce mixture cools slightly, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Working in small batches, transfer sauce mixture to food processor, blender or Vitamix and purée until smooth. Store, covered, in refrigerator for two weeks until ready to use or freeze for up to six months. Makes 6 to 7 cups.
  9. Nachos:
  10. Preheat oven to 350°F. Position oven rack close to the broiler element.
  11. Cover a medium-sized cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  12. Cover pan with half the chips. Pipe half the mole sauce over the chips. Top black beans, scallions, cilantro and cheese. Repeat with second layer in the same method.
  13. Bake at 350°F for 5 to 7 minutes (this ensures everything is warm) and then broil for another 5 minutes (this ensures that the cheese melts). Watch to ensure that nothing is burning.
  14. Serve immediately.
  15. You can serve from the cookie sheet or slide the nachos with parchment paper onto a platter.
Notes
Mole Sauce:
* I went to a small local market to find chiles and Mexican chocolate. There was a much better chile selection than my local grocery store. I recommend Ibarra chocolate. It’s traditionally used for Mexican hot chocolate. I grew up drinking it for special occasions.
* I recommend a mixture of chile peppers, but if you can’t find a variety, you can use all ancho peppers which are readily available.
Nachos:
* Instead of canned beans you can cook up a batch of Dried Black Beans.
* I used cotija cheese which is a Mexican cheese with a similar flavor to feta. It's hard cheese, so you'll need to grate it. If you can’t find cotija, substitute crumbled feta.
* Recipe serves 4 as an appetizer and 2 as a main course.
* Recipe can be doubled using two cookie sheets. You can bake both and then broil each sheet individually.
Recipe by Riegl Palate at https://www.rieglpalate.com/mole-nachos/