From our delicious blend of garden vegetables, jalapeños, spices and sweet sorghum syrup in our mild Red Cactus salsa to our gluten-free, trans-fat-free Red Cactus White Salsa Con Queso dip, we work hard to bring you a product like you have never tasted before. Since April 1995, we continue to create and perfect sweet salsa that all began with a recipe from owner and founder, Steve Lehenbauer’s sweet Aunt Gracie. Years later, the tradition of the low sodium salsa recipe lives on, creating a base for our company which has products in stores throughout the country. We know that a strong base in tradition works hand-in-hand with creating food or inspiring many of the new dishes we see today. One such dish which stems from tradition is molé, a traditional sauce-like dish originally and commonly found in Mexican cuisine.
While the origin of molé is disputed between Puebla and Oaxaca states, other states are creating their own versions of molé. The restaurant Pujol in Mexico City, owned and operated by head chef Enrique Olvera, has a world-famous molé which is over 1,500 days old. He says molé is a fascinating, laborious and complex dish with ever-expanding flavors. The flavors you experience in a molé will differ depending on what region, street vendor or restaurant you are visiting. Molé can be a personal labor of love as well as an ongoing, open-ended experiment with flavors. And what better a dish to originate in a place like Mexico, where fresh ingredients and varieties of chiles are found everywhere. Walking through an indoor market in Mexico City, you will find not only vendors with fresh-pressed fruit juices, or vendors with fresh cuts of bacon, you will also find sacks of dried chiles, peppers, spices, and herbs, perfect to start a tradition. At Red Cactus USA, we pride ourselves in using fresh ingredients from our garden to make our products and are always expanding to provide healthy, non-GMO options for dips and salsas.
Ingredients:
- 4 dried chilhuacle negro chiles
- 4 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- 4 dried pasilla chiles
- 4 dried mulato chiles
- 1 jar mild Red Cactus salsa
- ½ medium onion, cut in quarters
- 3 garlic cloves
- 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 roll of bread, torn
- 3 tomatillos, halved
- 2 tablespoons almonds
- 2 tablespoons pecans
- 2 tablespoons peanuts
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole allspice
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- 2 tablespoons pepitas
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 sprig marjoram
- 1 sprig oregano
- 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 prunes
- ⅛ teaspoon aniseed
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 4 oz Oaxacan chocolate, pieces
- 3–4 tablespoons sugar
- Kosher salt
Directions:
Remember, it is a laborious process, but a labor of love. While making molé, it is essential you are keeping an eye on the cooking to make sure it does not burn.
- Place all the ingredients, except for salt, salsa, and broth in a roasting pan at 450ºF for roughly 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and finely grind ingredients.
- Transfer the finely ground ingredients to a pan and sauté in oil over medium heat. Stir frequently for 45-60 minutes.
- Add 2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth to the pan. Bring to a simmer and stir frequently for 25 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and other whole spices, then blend the ingredients until smooth. Adding salt to taste as you go.
- Return mixture to heat and stir in Oaxacan chocolate pieces. Allow sauce to thicken and slightly reduce.
- Serve on its own with tortillas or use in a dish with turkey, chicken or other meat.
For the gluten-free or vegetarians, substitute the roll with gluten-free bread and the chicken broth with water or vegetable broth.
From our humble beginnings in 1995, Red Cactus-USA salsa has grown into a successful company with products in grocery stores around the country. However, we have done so by thinking about the health of our customers first through using fresh, non-GMO, and gluten-free ingredients. At Red Cactus-USA, we believe that a healthy and well-balanced diet full of good nutrition leads to a healthy and fulfilling life. We know that what we eat plays a huge factor in how we feel and how we live. We pride ourselves on creating a tradition of living healthy through a product that is made from only the best ingredients. Food is the quickest way to make or break your health, so through our recipes, we encourage you to become familiar with where you buy your food and what you are buying. Eating healthy does not have to break the bank and cooking does not have to be a chore. Take the molé recipe for example. Similar to chili, there are countless ways to prepare the dish. There are nearly an infinite number of recipes as there are flavor combinations when making the molé dish, what ingredients you use or omit is completely up to you.
From Red Cactus mild salsa to our White Cheese Sauce, to our Sweet-N-Zesty Salsa Con Queso, all of our products are gluten and trans-fat-free. Our recipe page shares more of our favorite dishes and meals shared with us over the years by people like you. By serving healthy alternatives to factory-manufactured products, we continually make a conscious step on our journey to keep people healthy. We also feel that working together can empower one another to continue doing good work throughout our communities. Have a healthy recipe you think would be loved by others? Send it over to our team for a chance to win a case of salsa! Have comments or suggestions? Get in touch with our team to share your feedback. We’d also love for you to join dozens of others who have shared how they use and enjoy our products in your everyday life.