Tonight it is Chicken Mole Enchiladas

[sarahlorrain]

I had NEVER heard of Mole, until a few days ago when I went grocery shopping and one of those sample ladies was there serving Chicken Mole. She gave me some and then told me what was in it. I was thinking EWWWW!! I took a bit, and didn't really like it. I didn't want to be rude, so I stood there and finished it. By the time I got done with my miniscule bowl of it, I was in love! It really is good once you get over the whole "chocolate and chicken?!?!?!?!?!" thing.

[medako]

it's about to get really cold here and nothing sounds better than some warm mole. Maybe I can talk hubby into stopping and getting us each a mole burrito on his way home from work tonight...

[lcsamano]

Actually I am making mole enchiledas tonight. It is quick and easy since we have a school function this evening. If I have any sauce left I will put it in a taco or something for my husbands lunch tomorrow.

[cookforkids]

I love mole sauce as well. I currently buy it in by the can. Does anyone know of a great recipe for homemade mole sauce? Hopefully, a simple one...lol

[lcsamano]

I have never tried to make it because it is a hard sauce to make. However, I have this recipe that a friend gave to me. There might be an easier recipe but I haven't found it.

12 ounces whole dried anchos and pasilla chiles
1 to 2 chiles de árbol or dried chipotles
Water
6 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon anise seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 tablespoons peanut oil or lard
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
6 whole Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 medium onion, chopped
1 day-old corn tortilla, quartered
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 ounces Ibarra® Mexican chocolate
1 teaspoon ground canela (cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 whole cloves

Break stems off chiles and remove seeds. Rinse chiles. Toast chiles until fragrant in a heavy skillet, turning them frequently. Transfer chiles to a large saucepan and cover with water. Simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes until softened.

While the chiles simmer, toast sesame seeds over medium heat in the skillet. Don't let them burn. Spoon the seeds into a blender.

Toast the anise and cumin seeds in the skillet until fragrant and add them to the blender.

Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into the warm skillet and stir in the nuts. Sauté until lightly colored and fragrant. Add the nuts to the blender.

Wipe out the skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Scatter the garlic cloves in the skillet, turning the cloves occasionally so that they soften and darken on all sides. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Add tomatoes to the skillet, turning occasionally as they soften and darken. The skins will split a bit during the process. Remove the tomatoes and set them aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the skins from the garlic and tomatoes and add both to the blender.

Pour 1 cup of the stock into the blender. Purée the mixture for 2 minutes. The sauce will become smooth but a little grainy. Pour the sauce into a large bowl.

Drain chiles lightly from their cooking liquid, reserving 1 cup of the liquid. Place the chiles and about 1/2 cup of the reserved liquid in the blender and purée. Pour the chiles into the bowl with the tomato sauce.

Add 1 more cup of stock to the blender with the remaining sauce ingredients and purée for 2 minutes. This mixture, too, will become smooth but a little grainy. Pour it into the bowl and stir together.

Wipe out any tomato residue from the skillet and add the remaining oil. Warm the oil over medium heat. Spoon in the sauce and fry it for about 10 minutes, stirring up from the bottom constantly. Mix in the remaining stock and reserved chile cooking liquid, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Divide sauce into two containers, as 1/2 will be enough for any recipe that serves 6 to 8. The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for 1 or 2 days, or frozen for several months.

[sarahlorrain]

That is too much work in my opinion. So you can buy it in the can?? Would one find it by the enchilada sauces?

[cookforkids]

Thanks for the recipe...I will try it on a weekend when I have some extra time. Yes, you can buy it in the can ...it is by the taco stuff, refried beans etc.

[ExCal]

We get chicken mole from Qdoba. They take a giant tortilla, warm it, then fill it with rice, black beans, chicken, mole sauce, pico, salsa, sour cream and cheese, then roll it up. yummy!

That sounds great, my mouth is watering now! And im supposed to be on a diet, with all these great foods it's going to be hard to do.

[Sophie]

The way it was explained to me is it's kind of a combination of roasted red peppers and chocolate flavors. It's a really rich sauce that's got jus tthe right amount of spice.

Oh gosh, thank you so much for your explanation. I thought you're all talking about the animal. Haha. So ignorant of me!

[medako]

Sophie - it's pronounce "moh - lay". Hopefully that'll help distinct from the rodent