Grilled halibut goes so well with this citrusy mole recipe. This is a lighter mole sauce that works well on fish, chicken or vegetables. It’s also a quick mole recipe, you can make it in about an hour.
I know, I wrote that recipe title backwards, huh? Nope. This is really about the mole sauce. You don’t have to put it on halibut. You can put it on chicken, you can put it on your eggs, everything you want. And you will want it on everything. It’s also a mole that can be made in a relatively short amount of time, not the typical three-day process, so it’s really deserving of all that attention.
I learned to make this mole recipe at Rancho Pescadero in Baja California Sur, Mexico. It’s actually on the site already here, in a travel post, but I realized that it doesn’t have the nice printable recipe format so I thought I would make it accessible via the recipe search tool. And it’s worth revisiting. Especially at this time of year when citrus is in season and you need something to remind you of the beach.
Halibut is a sturdy fish that stands up well to grilling. The light flavor of the fish doesn’t compete with the mole sauce and lets the complexities shine through.
Looking for more Mexican-style recipe ideas? Try this one, from our second trip to Rancho Pescadero: Baked Eggs in Avocados with Chorizo and Queso Fresco.
Almond Orange Mole with Grilled Halibut
For the mole sauce:
3 dried guajillo peppers – seeded and stemmed
3 cups boiling water
2 tomatoes, roasted
1 cup blanched almonds
2 tsp roasted garlic (from about 5-6 roasted cloves)
3 oranges- zested, grilled & juiced
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp honey
kosher salt to taste
For the grilled halibut:
4 halibut steaks
Olive oil
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions for mole recipe:
Roast tomatoes until blistered. I did this in a cast iron skillet on the grill, but you can also roast them whole in the oven at at 450 degrees.
Place garlic cloves with the skin on in an aluminum foil pouch with a drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven. Check them after about 15 minutes to see if they have softened. This is pretty high heat, so it won’t take long. You want them soft, not blackened. Allow to cool and then squeeze the garlic out of the skins.
Remove seeds, stems and ribs from guajillo peppers. Heat a dry skillet on the stove top, place chiles in the pan to toast lightly – just until they become fragrant and pliable. Do not let them get brown/black. This will ruin the delicate flavor. Remove from skillet and place in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the peppers until they are covered. Place a small plate over the peppers to ensure that they stay submerged. Let them soak for about 30 minutes. Do not discard soaking liquid.
Meanwhile, blanch almonds in boiling water, let soak for a bit. Once water has cooled, remove skins. You can just grip one end and they will shoot right out of the skins easily. Be careful you don’t shoot them all across the kitchen!
Heat some olive oil in large skillet and fry almonds until golden brown. You want enough oil in the pan so that they are swimming in there, and deep frying. Not just a sauté. Drain and cool.
Remove Peppers from soaking liquid, but do not discard liquid.
Zest oranges. Slice in half and grill. Once cool, juice the oranges.
Place almonds, peppers, tomatoes, orange juice, orange zest, roasted garlic, cinnamon, salt and honey in a blender and puree. Add the water from the peppers as needed to thin the sauce. Season again with salt to taste.
Brush both sides of halibut with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Grill the halibut over medium heat about 4 minutes per side.
Place a dollop of the warm mole sauce onto a plate, top with the grilled halibut, and serve with a lime or orange wedge.
Ingredients
Almond Orange Mole Recipe
- 3 dried guajillo peppers seeded and stemmed
- 3 cups boiling water
- 2 tomatoes, roasted
- 1 cup blanched almonds see instructions
- 2 tsp roasted garlic from about 5-6 roasted cloves
- 3 oranges zested, grilled and juiced
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp honey
- kosher salt to taste
Grilled Halibut
- 4 Halibut steaks
- olive oil
- kosher salt and cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Almond Orange Mole Recipe
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Roast tomatoes until blistered.
- Place garlic cloves with the skin on in an aluminum foil pouch with a drizzle of olive oil and roast in the oven. Check them after about 15 minutes to see if they have softened. This is pretty high heat, so it won't take long. You want them soft, not blackened. Allow to cool and then squeeze the garlic out of the skins.
- Remove seeds, stems and ribs from guajillo peppers. Heat a dry skillet on the stove top, place chiles in the pan to toast lightly – just until they become fragrant and pliable. Do not let them get brown/black. This will ruin the delicate flavor. Remove from skillet and place in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the peppers until they are covered. Place a small plate over the pepers to ensure that they stay submerged. Let them soak for about 30 minutes. Do not discard soaking liquid.
- Meanwhile, blanch almonds in boiling water, let soak for a bit. Once water has cooled, remove skins. You can just grip one end and they will shoot right out of the skins easily. Be careful you don’t shoot them all across the kitchen! Heat some olive oil in large skillet and fry almonds until golden brown. You want enough oil in the pan so that they are swimming around in there, and deep frying. Not just a sauté. Drain and cool.
- Zest oranges, reserving zest. Slice in half and grill. Once cool, juice the oranges.
- Place almonds, peppers, tomatoes, orange juice, orange zest, roasted garlic, cinnamon, salt and honey in a blender and puree. Add the water from the peppers as needed to thin the sauce. Season again with salt to taste.
Grilled Halibut
- Brush both sides of fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Grill over medium heat about 4 minutes per side. Place some mole sauce on the plate, top with grilled halibut and serve with a lime wedge.
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