Put a spin on chocolate with this tasty mole sauce

While chocolate is most often seen as a sweet treat, this traditional Mexican sauce puts the power of cocoa to a different use. You can make up this sauce for chicken, or find whole new ways to add it to your cooking.

• 75 g (3 oz) dried ancho chilis (about 6)
• 25 g (1 oz) dried guajillo chilis (about 4)
• 3 large ripe plum tomatoes
• 4 garlic cloves, skins on
• 50 g (1 oz) chopped Mexican chocolate
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) almonds
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried oregano leaves
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground cumin
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) ground cinnamon
• 1 ml (1/4 tsp) ground black pepper
• 800 ml (3 1/2 c) low-sodium turkey or chicken broth
• 2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt

Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus 30 minutes soaking. Cooking time: 40 minutes. Makes about 4 cups.

1. Heat a large griddle (preferably cast-iron) over medium heat. Tear open the chilis and discard the stems and seeds. Open up the chilis and press them flat with a spatula.
2. Put chilis on the griddle, holding them flat with a spatula, until charred in spots, about 30 seconds per side. Remove to a bowl and cover with hot water. Let soak for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, place the tomatoes and garlic directly on the griddle until the skins are blackened, eight to 10 minutes, turning to evenly blacken all sides. When cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes and garlic and transfer to a food processor.
4. Pluck the rehydrated chilis from the liquid. Add to the processor along with the chocolate, almonds, oregano, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper and 500 millilitres (two cups) of the broth. Process until very smooth
5. Press the mixture through a mesh strainer into a large pot or Dutch oven. Stir in the remaining 375 milliletres (1 1/2 cups) of broth and set the pot over medium heat.
6. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Season with the salt.

Nutritional information per serving (50 ml/1/4 c): 47 Calories, 1 g Fat, 0 g Saturated Fat, 7 g Carbs, 2 g Protein, 2 g Fibre, 0 mg Chol, 93 mg Sodium, 19 mg Calcium

• This recipe calls for Mexican chocolate, which is flavoured with cinnamon, almonds, vanilla and sugar and is widely available.
• If you can't find Mexican chocolate, use semi-sweet chocolate and a bit (0.5 milligrams or 1/8 of a teaspoon) of ground cinnamon, along with a few drops each of vanilla and almond extracts.

Mole is a classic sauce of Mexican cooking used to top chicken. It's based on mild dried chili peppers that are toasted, rehydrated, pureed and thickened with ground nuts — often with a bit of chocolate, and makes for a whole new way to look at chicken.