Sometimes you don’t quite have the classic ingredients for a mole poblano, but you have lots of other ingredients which live in the same neighborhood, so you go out into the highways and the hedges and invite them to the party instead. And then you name the mole in their honour.
The sine qua non of a mole poblano are pumpkin and sesame seeds, and bitter chocolate which gives the sauce a deeper flavour profile. Guess what I didn’t have …. But there is such a thing as high-cacao bittersweet baking chocolate, and almonds and pine nuts are excellent for adding a nutty flavour especlally when roasted or fried off. And guess what I did have … ?
Like most sauces, the mole will freeze beautifully if you want to work ahead by a few days for a party, or even to have something in reserve for dinner-in-a-month.
“Highways and Hedges” enchiladas de queso con mole austineño
Categories: Tex-Mex, Cheese, Casseroles
Serves 8
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method ———————— ———————————— ——————————————————————————————————
6 Chiles anchos 3 Chiles guajillos 2 Chlles moras Reserved chile water ½ teaspoon Salt, or to taste 1 teaspoon Mexican orégano 1 teaspoon Ground cumin ½ teaspoon Ground coriander 2 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, broken up 1 large Diced onion 2 tablespoons Lard or oil ¾ cup Slivered almonds ¾ cup Pine nuts 2 tablespoons Lard or oil Vegetable broth 12 ounces Shredded asadero cheese 12 ounces Shredded Swiss cheese 16 Corn tortillas 4 ounces Sliced black olives 3 ounces Crema fresca, thinned slightly with water Guacamole, to garnish Cilantro sprigs, to garnish
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Place the dried chiles in a large bowl (stoneware is good) and pour over boiling water to cover. To make sure hydration is thorough, cut a small hole into the side of each chile to let in the water. Allow the chiles to soak, anything from two hours to overnight. (This part of the process is forgiving.) Drain, and reserve the soaking water.
Remove the stems, seeds, and veins from the rehydrated chiles. Tear them into pieces and place into a blender or food processor. Process until the chiles are a smooth, thick liquid, adding some of the reserved chile water as needed to achieve smoothness. Place into a medium-large saucepan. Add the salt and spices. Break the chocolate into pieces and add to the sauce.
Sauté the diced onion in melted lard or oil in a skillet until it is translucent and beginning to brown. Remove from the heat and add to the chiles. Simmer the sauce for ten to fifteen minutes over a low flame, to allow the chocolate to melt and flavours to blend. Add a little vegetable broth if the sauce seems too thick.
Wipe out the skillet and add two tablespoons of lard or oil. Over a medium flame, sauté the almonds and pine nuts until they begin to brown. Transfer the nuts to a blender and whirl until smooth, adding enough vegetable broth to make a thick slurry. Fold into the sauce. Add a little more broth if the sauce seems too thick.
Combine the shredded cheeses. Heat the tortillas, six at a time, on a plate in a microwave for sixty seconds to soften them. Oil a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Add a large pinch of cheese to each tortilla and roll them up, placing them seam side down in the dish. The filled tortillas should be a little bigger around than a frankfurter.
Scatter the sliced olives over the enchiladas, then spread the sauce evenly, using a spatula to fill the edges and corners, cover loosely with foil, and place into the preheated oven. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and bake an additional five minutes. Allow to rest five minutes before serving. Plate the enchiladas; drizzle crema fresca in a zig-zag over each serving. Garnish each plate with a generous dollop of guacamole and a sprig of cilantro.
Copyright © 2019 Sam Waring
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 907 Calories; 79g Fat (66.7% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 94mg Cholesterol; 779mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 3½ Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; ½ Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 13 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
The nuts added sweetness to the sauce, while the chocolate increased the depth, adding a bit of femme fatale to the flavour profile.
