Big bowls of mole sauce welcome your guests to dip into these most festive of Mexican sauces. The red mole is best served with grilled meats and/or turkey; green mole goes best with seafood or chicken. We suggest serving the moles in warming dishes, surrounded by skewers of grilled turkey breast, chicken breast, steak strips, shrimp, and/or scallops. Judge about 4 to 6 ounces of protein foods (3 skewers) for each guest.

1 pound (about 4) large, fresh poblano peppers
1/2 cup raw sesame seeds
1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatillos, undrained
1 can (14.5 ounces) tropical fruit salad
1 can (7 ounces) jalapeño slices, drained
8 romaine lettuce leaves, broken in pieces
2 corn tortillas, broken in small pieces
24 sprigs parsley
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground aniseed or fennel seed
Pinch of clove
4 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste

Roast poblano peppers directly over a high gas flame or on a broiling tray under broiler, turning them with tongs as needed until their skins are blackened all over, about 5 minutes on a gas flame, or 10 minutes under a broiler.

Cover with a towel and rest for 5 minutes.

Rub peppers with your fingers removing as much of the burnt skin as possible, wash the bits of skin from your hands, but try not to douse the peppers directly with water. Pull out the stem from each pepper and discard the seeds. Chop coarsely and transfer to a large bowl.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and peanuts, and stir until the seeds start to pop. Add to the bowl with the chiles. Add the tomatillos, tropical fruit salad, jalapeño slices, romaine leaves, tortillas, parsley, cinnamon, pepper, aniseed, clove and half the broth. Toss together.

Purée in batches in a blender until as smooth as possible, and pass through a medium sieve into another bowl. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking.

Add the mole mixture all at once. Be careful it will sputter vigorously. Stir until the sputtering stops and stir in the remaining broth. Simmer for about 15 minutes until the mole thickens to the texture of heavy cream.  Season to taste with salt, if desired.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories 160; Total fat 10g; Saturated fat 1g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 560mg; Carbohydrate 14g; Fiber 5g; Protein 7g; Vitamin A 20%DV*; Vitamin C 45%DV; Calcium 6%DV; Iron 15%DV

*Daily Value