Chicken Mole Enchiladas

Before:

After:

As a friend once said, “I love enchiladas, they’re like delicious food already partly digested.” (or something like that). These chicken mole enchiladas pack a real wallop of flavor and have a wonderful saucy texture. The spiciness of the sauce and the creaminess of the chicken filling all with the brightness of a squeeze of lime juice is really divine!

The sauce is really what makes these enchiladas special. Mole is a red sauce with dark chocolate in it. I know, it sounds a little weird, but the dark chocolate really helps to mellow out the sauce and complements the smokiness of the chipotle peppers really nicely.

The chicken filling is really easy to make, which is nice since the sauce is the real star and a bit time intensive. If you wanted to have this as a weeknight meal you could make all of the component parts ahead of time and then simply assemble and bake when you are ready for dinner!

Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Adapted from Kirsten’s Home Cooking

Ingredients
For the enchiladas:
6-10 flour or corn tortillas (taco size)
4 bone-in skin-on chicken thigh, cooked and shredded
3/4 c light sour cream
one bunch green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
3 c grated cheddar, divided (1 cup and 2 cups)
Salt and Pepper

For the Mole Sauce:
The fat rendered from cooking 2 slices bacon (or equivalent amount cooking oil)
1 large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
4 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce
2 TBS adobo sauce
4 cloves garlic
1/4 c warm water
1 14 oz can whole tomatoes, with juices
2 c chicken broth
1/4 c dark chocolate, chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Method
Directions for Mole Sauce:
Saute onion, carrot and celery in bacon fat (or substitute) until softened, about 5-10 minutes. Once vegetables have softened place them in a blender with the peppers, adobo sauce, tomatoes, garlic and water. Puree until smooth.

Return mixture to saucepan and add chicken broth. Simmer on high heat for 20-30 minutes until sauce has reduced and thickened. Stir in chocolate until melted. Salt and pepper to taste, keep sauce warm.

Directions for Enchiladas:
Mix chicken, sour cream, green onions and 1 cup cheese in a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Make sure that the chicken forms a nice solid mixture; tweak amount of sour cream as necessary.

Lay out tortillas, fill with chicken mixture.

Roll tightly and lay seam side down in a glass or metal 13×9 baking dish that has a thin layer of mole sauce already spread on the bottom (to prevent sticking and burning).

Cover with remaining sauce.

Top with remaining 2 cups cheese, more if you feel it’s necessary.

Bake at 325 for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Serve with rice and beans with lime wedges and additional sour cream on the side!