Mole de Olla is a rich and hearty beef soup very popular in central Mexico. A broth made with beef meat and bones, chilies, and vegetables. So flavored and nutritious!
Place meat and bones in a large pot with a halved onion, garlic, 2 bay leaves, and a tablespoon of salt.
Cover with about 2-inches (5cm) of water and bring to a boil.
Cook over medium heat for about 1 hour. Skim off any foam that rises to the surface.
Make the sauce
Place chilies in a bowl and cover with hot water, allow soaking for 10 minutes.
Transfer soaked chilies to a blender and add tomatoes, onion chunks, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, and oregano.
Add 2 cups of water and blend until smooth.
Make mole
After one hour the meat is cooking, place a strainer over the pot and pour in the chili sauce.
Keep cooking until the meat is cooked through and tender (read notes).
Now, add the vegetables and make sure there is enough liquid to cook them. You can also add epazote or cilantro at this point.
After 5 minutes, add corn dumplings if you want, and cook everything for another 15 minutes.
Adjust salt to taste and turn off the heat.
Serve with chopped onion and green chilies, a squeeze of lime, and corn tortillas.
Notes
The cooking time will depend on the type of meat you are using, so sometimes it is necessary to cook between two and three hours.
You can test the meat by inserting a fork in a chunk, if you notice that there is a lot of resistance the meat still lacks cooking, on the contrary, if the fork is easily inserted, the meat is ready.
Some people replace Xoconostle with tomatillos to give a slightly sour taste to the stew. You can use 6 halved tomatillos instead xoconostle.
Want to make it spicer? Blend 2-3 arbol chilies with the other ingredients for the sauce.