Enchiladas de Mole with Zucchini and Mushrooms
This Mexican chile pepper is called “Chilaca” when used fresh. In California the Poblano chile is often called Pasilla. Since most of these are bought and distributed from California this mislabeling often carries over into the supermarkets nationwide causing a lot of confusion. This chile is very mild and is usually consumed in the dry form to make the famous Mexican ‘mole’ sauces.
Ingredients:
For the mole:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 dried pasilla peppers, stemmed, toasted in a dry skillet
2 dried ancho peppers, stemmed, toasted in a dry skillet
1 cup unhulled sesame seeds, toasted in a dry skillet
1 slice bread
1/3 cup cocoa nibs (or 1/4 cup cocoa powder)
1 tablespoon oregano, preferably Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups clear vegetable broth (or part bean-cooking liquid)
For the enchiladas:
Vegetable oil
5 cups diced white mushrooms (about 1/4″)
5 cups diced zucchini (about 1/4″)
Kosher salt
12 corn tortillas
To serve:
Rings of white onion
Cotija or other crumbly white cheese (feta works in a pinch) (omit or replace for vegan)
Instructions:
Yield: 4 servings + leftover mole 3 enchiladas
For the mole:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and sugar and cook until the onion has softened, about 2 minutes. Tear up and add the toasted pasilla and ancho peppers, the sesame seeds, and the bread. Add the cocoa nibs, cumin, allspice, cinnamon and vegetable broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes. Puree, then return to pot and taste and adjust seasoning. Add broth as needed to produce a fairly thick but saucy consistency.
For the enchiladas:
In a large skillet, heat a couple tablespoons of oil over a medium high flame. Add the mushrooms and a big pinch of salt, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Reserve the mushrooms and repeat the process with the zucchini. Fold them together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
To make the enchiladas, have your plates hot, your mole hot, and your filling hot. Heat about 1/4″ of oil in a small skillet over a medium-low flame. Add one tortilla to the oil to soften it, turning once with tongs. This should take about 20 seconds – you don’t want to get it crisp. It will seem oily, but will turn out awesome. Place the tortilla on a plate and spread about 1 tablespoon of sauce on it. Spoon in a couple tablespoons of filling and roll it up. Repeat this process, putting 3 enchiladas on each plate.
Thin the mole a little with broth (or water), to a saucy consitency, and make sure it is piping hot. Ladle a generous amount over each plate, top with a few rings of white onion and a scattering of cotija, and serve immediately.
From herbivoracious.com