Mole Poblano Enchiladas

I slightly reinvented my mole recipe using hand ground chocolate and cocoa nibs. I usually make the enchiladas with a winter squash, but I wanted to experiment with fillings. I used a simple Oaxacan cheese filling with green chilies and fresh onions and “smoked” seitan (turkey is traditional).

Ingredients
3 packs chicken style seitan, drained and pressed dry
1 qt. no-chicken broth
½ t liquid smoke
1 t crushed red peppers
1 t salt
½ t ground pepper

3 dried ancho chilies
3 dried pasilla chilies
2 dried mulatos chilies (or more anchos)
2 dried guajillo chilies
1 dried chipotle
1 t coriander seeds
½ t black peppercorns
½ t anise seed
¼ t cumin seed
4 cloves
1 (1”) piece cinnamon stick (or ½ t ground)
1 bay leaf
3 T slivered almonds
2 T sesame seeds
2 corn tortillas, torn into 1 inch pieces
1 medium white onion, quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled
3 medium ripe red tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup yellow raisins
1 ½ T vegetable oil
2 cups vegetable stock
2 ½ T ground unsweetened chocolate
1 t unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T cocoa nibs
1 T honey (or to taste)
2 t red wine vinegar (or to taste)
salt

1 can green chilies, chopped
½ white onion, minced
1 T canola oil
32 corn tortillas
16 oz Oaxacan baking cheese, shredded
1 qt vegetable broth

Directions
Combine first six ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

For the mole:
Soak the dried peppers in hot water. You may need to weigh them down with a bowl or plate to keep them submerged. Leave them in the water until you are ready to add them into the sauce. Toast spices until fragrant, then grind to a fine powder. Toast separately the sesame seeds, almonds, and tortilla pieces. Roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a comal or cast iron pan until there are back spots. Add roasted veggies, ground spices, and toasted nuts and tortilla pieces into a blender with the raisins and cilantro. Blend to a fine sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok and fry the sauce, gradually adding the vegetable stock. Once all the vegetable stock has been added, mix in the chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs. Then add honey, vinegar, and salt to taste. Set mole aside.

For the filling:
Sauté the onion in the canola oil until translucent. Add green chilies and drained seitan. Stir until combined.

To build the enchiladas:
Heat vegetable broth in a wide shallow sauce pan till steaming. Keep stove temperature at a level that will keep the broth hot, but not let it boil. This may involve periodically removing it from the heat. Spoon some of the mole mixture into the bottom of a baking dish so that there is a thin coating of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Dunk a tortilla into the hot broth just long enough to make it pliable, then remove onto clean surface. Spoon 2-3 T of the seitan mixture, add a bit of cheese, roll, and place stuffed tortilla seam down in the mole coated baking dish. Repeat this process until the baking dish is full. Spoon additional mole over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top of the smothered enchiladas. Repeat entire process with second baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350° oven. Sprinkle with a little more cilantro before serving. Serves 12.

Lentejas Oaxaqueñas

This is a traditional lentil dish that combines the spices typical to the Southern part of Mexico, clove and allspice, with fresh tropical fruits of the Mexican coast, pineapple and plantain.

Ingredients
1 lb. lentils
8 cups water
10 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
1 T vegetable oil
2 yellow plantains, peeled and chopped
2-3 thick slices fresh pineapple, chopped
2-3 roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 t ground cloves
1 t ground allspice
salt to taste

Directions
Place the lentils in a large pot with the water, half the garlic and half the onion. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Season with salt to taste. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the remaining onions and garlic until the onion begins to soften. Add the plantains, pineapple and tomatoes and continue to cook until the plantains soften. Add the spices, lentils, and some of their cooking liquid. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens, adding more cooking liquid as necessary. Serve in bowls, garnished with fried slices of plantain if desired. Serves 8-10.

Ensalada de Jicama Toronjada

This is a colorful jicama salad with grapefruit, orange, marinated onions, spinach, and spices. Provides a lively counter to the earthy flavors in the enchiladas.

Ingredients
1 red onion, thinly sliced into crescents
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t salt

2 grapefruit, sliced and peeled (membranes removed)
3 navel oranges, peeled (membranes removed)
2 cups jicama, cut into sticks (3 by 1/2 inches)
1 medium fennel bulb cut into match sticks
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste
2 red jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
cayenne pepper

6 cups mixed salad greens

2 T white wine vinegar
4 T orange juice
3 T lime juice
4 T fresh cilantro chopped
1 t black pepper corns toasted and ground to a powder
1 dried ancho chilies toasted and ground to a powder
3 T olive oil

Directions
Combine first 7 ingredients, marinate overnight. Toss grapefruit slices, orange slices, onion slices and jicama, sprinkle with cilantro and jalapeno and season with salt and cayenne. Cover and refrigerate the salad for about 2 hours.

Make dressing by mixing white wine vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, and cilantro. Toast pepper and ancho chili in a cast iron pan until fragrant and chili is crisp, then grind into a powder using a coffee/spice grinder. Add spices to acid mixture. Whisk in oil.

Serve salad cold on a bed of mixed greens that have been tossed with 1/2 of dressing. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over top of the salad or serve on the side.

Platinos Fritos (AKA Amarillos)

This is simply plantains fried in butter and spices. It is commonly served along with meat and fish dishes in Mexico and S. America, or as a dessert. I'm very fond of it as a breakfast dish and it makes a nice sweet accessory to the spices in this meal.

Ingredients
¼ cup brown sugar
½ t cayenne pepper
½ t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t chili powder
¼ t ground clove
6 completely black plantains
½ cup butter or vegan margarine

Directions
Mix sugar and spices together in a bowl, set aside. Melt butter in a non-stick pan or a comal. Once butter is sizzling, add plantains. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over top of the plantains. Once the are golden brown on the bottom side, flip them over and sprinkle the other half of the spice mixutre over them. Cook till golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel before serving.