Mole Nachos

I love mole sauce but it has soooooooo many ingredients and it takes an inordinate amount of time to prepare. Lucky for me (and you!), this mole recipe has half the ingredients of a traditional recipe and takes half the time! And believe me, these nachos are far better than those covered with cheese sauce. Which begs the question – what is cheese sauce?

Mole Nachos
Serves 6

Ingredients
5 dried pasilla Chile peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 8-to-10-ounce bag tortilla chips
1 3.1-ounce disk Mexican chocolate, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
½ to 1 cup grated Oaxaca cheese or Monterey jack cheese
2 to 4 tablespoons Mexican crema or sour cream
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
Preheat the broiler. Stem and seed the Chile peppers and soak in warm water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the chiles, chicken broth, peanut butter, sugar and oregano. Coarsely crumble 1/4 cup tortilla chips, add to the blender and puree until smooth. Return the mixture to the saucepan and simmer, stirring, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chocolate until melted. Season the mole with salt and pepper.
Place the remaining tortilla chips in a baking dish. Pour about 2 cups mole on top (reserve the rest for dipping); sprinkle with the cheese. Broil until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Top with the crema and cilantro.