Chicken Mole Enchiladas

A man called me last February from Mexico asking about food tours here in Boulder.  He had lived in Boulder, moved to Veracruz, and was returning for a week to attend a friend’s wedding. We made a deal over the phone that involved him bringing me a jar of traditional Veracruz mole. In July, he showed up on tour with a slightly sticky bag containing a slightly leaking jar of brown paste: Mexican Mole base.

The summer came and went. I went through a breakup, which led to a cooking hiatus, and this jar of mole moved with me into my new condo and new kitchen. I had no plans for this jar until I met Giovanni- an architect/designer who recently moved to Boulder and happens to be half-Mexican. Having lived in Mexico and learning to cook from relatives there, Giovanni offered to teach me how to make chicken mole enchiladas.

There were a number of steps involved.

First, we boiled a couple chicken breasts until they were cooked through.  When cool enough to touch, Giovanni shredded the meat with his hands. We also got to work making the mole sauce.  Approximately a third of the jar of paste went into a sauce pan with a couple cups of water and that reduced on medium-high for 30 minutes or so. We also sauteed some fingerling potatoes and carrots in a little olive oil and lightly toasted sesame seeds. We definitely had to use all burners on my stove for this meal.

When the chicken was cooked and shredded, the mole sauce was done (not too thick, not to thin), and the potatoes were cooked, we added the chicken to the potatoes, covered them in sauce (keeping a couple cups reserved in the pan), and made a chicken potato carrot mole combination for our enchiladas.  Then, the fun began.

First, Giovanni dunked 3 corn tortillas in mole sauce and lay them out on a plate. Next, he filled and rolled them, one by one. Finally, he drizzled them with extra mole sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and topped them with thinly sliced onions.  It was really cool to watch.

Mole sauce is a really complex sauce with many different variations.  This jar from Veracruz was great for my first traditional mole experience and I’m definitely looking forward to my next enchiladas de mole evening.