Keeping in theme with Cinco de Mayo, our weekly recipe is a
little spicy but definitely delicious! Thank you to our friends at the FoodNetwork for this delicious, recipe for Chicken Mole Enchiladas! – if you make
this week’s recipe, be sure to share it with us on Facebook and Instagram using
the hashtag #MakeitMexican and #LifeattheCommons
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Mole:
- 5 dried pasilla or ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- Two 6-inch corn tortillas, or handful regular tortilla chips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 medium onions, chopped
- Kosher salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
- One 3.1-ounce disk Mexican chocolate, chopped, such as
Ibarra
- Freshly ground black pepper
Enchiladas:
- Olive oil, as needed
- Twelve 6-inch corn tortillas, warmed
- 1/4 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
- 3/4 cup queso fresco or mild feta
Directions
For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 375degrees F. On a
baking sheet, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper and drizzle with the
olive oil. Bake until cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside to cool, then
shred into small bite-sized pieces.
For the mole: Reconstitute the dried chiles by soaking them
in 1 1/2 cups hot water for 15 minutes. Then drain and set aside. Toast the
corn tortillas in a dry skillet until dry, crisp and golden. Tear into pieces
and set aside. In the same skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the
onions, season with a little salt and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes.
Then add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer the onion and garlic
mixture to a blender with the chiles, tortillas, peanut butter and oregano.
Pour the chicken stock over and blend until very smooth. Then transfer the
sauce to a medium saute pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat
to medium, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in the chocolate. Season the mole
with salt and pepper. Reserve 1 cup of mole for garnishing the enchiladas, the
rest will be used for dipping the tortillas.
To assemble the enchiladas: Fill a medium saute pan half way
with oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, dip 1 tortilla at a time and fry
just until soft and heated through, a few seconds. Lift out, let the excess oil
drip off and then dip the fried tortilla directly into the warm mole (which
should be right next to the pan for easy dipping) and transfer to a plate.
Working quickly, put 1/3 cup of the shredded chicken in the center, being
careful not to over fill. Roll the tortilla like a cigar to enclose the filling
and place in a serving dish seam- side down. Continue to fill all of the
tortillas and place them side-by- side. Pour the reserved mole over the top.
(This recipe can be tightly wrapped and frozen for 3 weeks at this stage. To
reheat: Preheat oven to 350degrees F, unwrap and bake until sauce is bubbly and
enchiladas are heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes.) To serve, drizzle with a
little sour cream and sprinkle with queso.
From Food Network Kitchens; after further testing and to
ensure the best results this recipe has been altered from what was in the
actual episode.
Cook's Note: Queso Fresco is a white, mild, fresh Mexican
cheese with the texture of fresh farmer's cheese in the US. Queso fresco can be
found in many supermarkets, or can also substituted with a mild feta cheese.
Cook's Note: The pasilla is a Mexican dried chile, also
known as "ancho" or "chile negro" in the U.S. It is often
used in moles and other Mexican sauces. It also can be sold as a fresh chile in
the U.S. - similar to the poblano. They can be found at most supermarkets,
Latin specialty markets or online.
*Cooks note: Ibarra chocolate is a brand of Mexican chocolate
that can be purchased in most national supermarkets. If you cannot find Ibarra
or any Mexican chocolate, you can substitute one ounce of Mexican chocolate
for: 1 (1-ounce) of semi-sweet chocolate, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and one
drop of almond extract.
