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Recipes with dried ancho chile

7 recipes that use dried ancho chile, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Enmoladas, takes 45 minutes. It is most often cooked with garlic, white onion and dried guajillo chile.

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ManchamantelesPork and chicken fruit stew

Its name means 'tablecloth stainer', and the deep red ancho sauce lives up to it at Sunday lunches in Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca, where it has been made in convent kitchens since colonial times. This version uses pork shoulder and chicken thighs, simmered in a sauce thickened with almonds and sesame, then sweetened with chunks of pineapple, ripe plantain and sweet potato. It tastes fruity, mildly hot and rich. Serve with white rice and tortillas. Chef's tip: add the fruit near the end so it holds its shape and keeps its tang.

120 minMexicanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pipián rojoChicken in red pumpkin seed sauce

At family fiestas in Tlaxcala and the Puebla countryside, pipián rojo is the brick-red cousin of the green version, thick with toasted pumpkin seeds and sesame and coloured with guajillo and ancho chiles. Chicken pieces are poached first, and their broth loosens the sauce so it clings like velvet. It tastes earthy, nutty and only gently hot, and is served with red rice and stacks of tortillas. Chef's tip: toast the seeds and sesame separately, because sesame burns in half the time.

75 minMexicanChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mole coloraditoRed mole

Among Oaxaca's famous seven moles, coloradito is the one served at weddings, baptisms and the Guelaguetza feasts in the Central Valleys, poured over chicken and eaten with tortillas and rice. Ancho and guajillo give it a brick-red colour, while fried plantain, bread, almonds, sesame and a little Oaxacan chocolate make it sweet-savoury and glossy. It takes an afternoon and is even better the next day. Chef's tip: fry the blended paste in hot oil until it darkens and thickens like jam; this 'searing' of the mole builds most of its depth.

150 minMexicanChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Enchiladas potosinasRed chile cheese enchiladas

Unlike the sauced enchiladas of Mexico City, the enchiladas of San Luis Potosí are small turnovers of masa kneaded with red chile paste, filled with fresh cheese and onion, cooked on the comal and quickly fried. In the city's plaza they are sold by the dozen with crema, shredded lettuce and pickled vegetables, and they're a favourite for Sunday family suppers. For a fully vegetarian plate, swap the usual animal-rennet queso fresco for a vegetarian fresh cheese or a mild microbial-rennet feta. Chef's tip: let the chile paste cool before kneading it into the masa, or the dough turns sticky.

60 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mole de ollaBeef and vegetable mole soup

Despite its name, mole de olla is not a thick mole but a brick-red soup, made in big clay pots on chilly days in Mexico City, Hidalgo and Morelos. Beef shank simmers until soft, then a guajillo-ancho broth carries chunks of corn on the cob, chayote, courgette, green beans and potatoes, finished with a sprig of epazote. It is served in deep bowls with chopped onion, chiles and lime, and tortillas for dunking. Chef's tip: keep the marrow bones in the pot; they enrich the broth and are a cook's treat on toast.

140 minMexicanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

EnmoladasEnchiladas in mole

In Puebla and Oaxaca, leftover mole from a fiesta becomes enmoladas the next day: warm tortillas dipped in the dark sauce, folded around cheese and finished with onion and toasted sesame. This version makes a quick vegetarian mole from scratch with vegetable stock and oil, because market moles often contain lard or chicken stock. The cheese is the one ingredient to check, since queso fresco is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian fresh cheese or paneer-style curd instead. Chef's tip: keep the mole loose, like pouring cream, so it coats each tortilla in a thin glossy layer rather than a thick paste.

45 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chileajo de verdurasVegetables in guajillo garlic sauce

Chileajo is a cold dish of the Mixteca and the Oaxaca valley markets, sold from big clay bowls on Sundays and during Lent, and piled onto crisp tostadas at family fiestas. Potatoes, green beans, carrots, chayote, cauliflower and peas are cooked just tender and folded into a brick-red sauce of guajillo chiles, plenty of garlic, cloves and vinegar, then left to soak up its tangy, smoky heat. It keeps for days and improves as it sits. The usual mistake is overcooking the vegetables before they meet the sauce, so they turn mushy once mixed; they should still have a little bite. Chef's tip: toast the chiles only until they smell fragrant and blister, a few seconds a side; burnt chiles make the whole sauce bitter.

60 minMexicanVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Goes well with dried ancho chile