Mole Enchiladas

INGREDIENTS

POACHED CHICKEN (3-4 cups shredded):

• 3 lbs chicken - BONE IN/SKIN ON

• 1 medium white onion - quartered

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 1 large carrot - roughly chopped

• 2 bay leafs

• 6 whole peppercorns

• ½ TBS salt

• 1 tsp ground cumin

MOLE SAUCE (about 2 cups):

• 2 large roma tomatoes - quartered

• ¼ white onion - chopped

• 1 ancho chile (stems and seeds removed)

• 1 guajillo or pasila chile (stems and seeds removed)

• 2 garlic cloves - smashed

• 1 ½ oz Mexican chocolate (semisweet will also work)

• 1 tsp peanut butter

• 2 tsp sugar

• ½ tsp sesame seeds

• 1 slice toasted white bread - torn into pieces

• 1 cup chicken broth (use from poached chicken pot)

• 2 TBS oil (canola or olive)

CORN TORTILLAS (about 15 small):

• 1 ¾ cups masa harina

• 1 cup + 2 TBS hot water

ENCHILADAS:

• 3-4 cups of shredded chicken

• Mole sauce

• ¼ white onion - diced (plus more for topping)

• CORN tortillas

• 2 cups shredded queso blanco or monterey jack cheese

GO FOR IT

POACHED CHICKEN:

1. In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil

2. Add chicken and all ingredients listed

3. Simmer for 40 minutes

4. Remove chicken, let cool, then shred - set aside

5. Reserve 2 cups of broth before discarding remains

MOLE SAUCE:

1. Heat oil in sauce pan over medium heat

2. Sauté onions until very soft (about 5 minutes) adding garlic near the end (you want to toast, not burn, the garlic)

3. Add 1 cup reserved broth, tomatoes, chilies, chocolate, peanut butter, sesame seeds, bread, and sugar

4. Simmer 5 minutes - tasting and adding salt as needed

5. Puree in pot with immersion blender - or transfer to blender and puree there (add more broth if needed)

CORN TORTILLAS:

1. Mix masa harina and hot water in a small bowl

2. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes

3. Knead dough into a ball, adding cold water 1 TBS at a time until very soft, by not sticky (think wet play-dough)

4. Cover dough in plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes

5. Divide dough into small balls (should make about 15)

6. Under plastic wrap (or it will stick to whatever you use to form them) use tortilla press or rolling pin to flatten dough into thin discs (about 5-6 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch in thickness)

7. Place discs on hot, ungreased cast iron, griddle, or comal. Depending on heat, tortillas will cook in 30-60 seconds per side

8. Place and keep under damp paper or kitchen towel

ENCHILADAS:

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 TBS of oil and sauté onions until they just begin to soften (2 minutes)

2. Add chicken and mix with onions until everything is heated throughout

3. Into a bowl, put chicken and mix well with ½ cup of mole sauce - set aside

4. Using enough oil to cover skillet surface. Heat until sizzling, then add tortillas 1 at a time, cooking about 10 seconds on each side, until soft and very flexible - set aside on paper towel to drain

5. Grease up the bottom of a baking dish with a little bit of mole sauce

6. Start assembling enchiladas in dish by filling each tortilla with a bit of chicken, cheese, and sauce, then rolling so that the seam is facing down. Cover enchiladas with remaining sauce and top with remaining cheese

7. Bake at 300° until cheese is bubbling (10-15 minutes)

8. Serve hot out of the oven - ENJOY!

NOTES:

I mentioned there being thousands of ways to prepare enchiladas and these are no different. In a pinch, I’ve shredded a store-bought rotisserie chicken to save on time (will still taste great) and added different meats and cheeses for fillings. If you do poach your chicken, then please do use skin-on, bone-on as that will contribute greatly to flavoring the broth you will use for the mole sauce.

You also don’t have to take the time to make homemade corn tortillas. But remember, this website is all about helping you achieve restaurant quality at home and I believe tortillas are one of those items that taste infinitely better when homemade. They can take awhile to get the hang of, and you may end up with some broken enchiladas along the way, but I promise they will still taste phenomenal broken or not. If you do use store bought, please, do not use flour tortillas. Flour tortilla enchiladas are a lie. Don’t be a liar.

I like this mole sauce because it is both easy to make, and tastes great. But there are of course many other mole recipes out there and you should not be afraid to shop around or even play around with this one. Adding raisins to the simmer is very common in Mexican cooking, as is using a pinch of cinnamon. You can even replace the peanut butter with whole almonds. The chilies and chocolate you add will also contribute greatly to the color so use what you prefer and see how it turns out.