Chocolate Mole Enchiladas
Chocolate Mole Sauce. It is the perfect combination of spicy and sweet, dinner and dessert, Mexican food and chocolate. It is a chocoholic’s dream come true.
I would drink this sauce if I could, but it’s probably best to put it on some actual food. I used lightly seasoned sweet potatoes, black beans, and rice to complement the sauce without overpowering the rich chocolate flavor. Add some sliced avocado on top of this wonderful mole mess and you have basically achieved culinary perfection.
Now, as much as I like spicy food, I’m just not really equipped to handle it. Mole (Spanish for “sauce”) is made many different ways, often without chocolate, but it always has some combination of chili peppers. Depending on the type of mole, the flavors and level of heat of the peppers in the sauce can vary. I love the flavor of poblano and chipotle chilis, but I tried to keep my mole as mild as possible by only adding one of each.
If you can handle the heat, by all means add more chilis! The secret to this sauce is to simmer it slowly on a low heat and keep adding things until it tastes right to you. If you’re not sure how spicy you want it, try it with only one or two chilis, and if it’s not spicy enough for you, add a few more. I can guarantee you’ll love this sauce even if it doesn’t burn your face off.
Chocolate Mole Enchiladas
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegan butter or coconut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 white onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 banana
1 dried ancho chili (also called poblano), stemmed and seeded (OR sub 1 tsp ancho chili powder)
1 chipotle chili from a can, stemmed and seeded (OR sub 1 tsp chipotle chili powder)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4.5 oz vegan dark chocolate (I used one and a half bars of Taza 80% dark chocolate), OR sub 3-4 tbsp cacao powder
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp almond butter
1 can black beans
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups of rice
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 avocados, sliced
Tortilla wraps
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425F
Dice the onions, garlic, tomato, and sweet potato.
Place the sweet potato on a tray and drizzle with olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bake at 400F in the oven for 30 minutes.
WEARING GLOVES, seed and stem the chilis. The oils from the chilis can burn the skin on your hands and if you touch your eyes, it will not be pleasant. The chili seeds can pack some serious heat, so if you don’t want your sauce to be too spicy, you should remove the seeds from the inside. Cut off the stem of the chili with a sharp knife, and then slice lengthwise along the chili to open it. Remove the seeds with a knife or by running under water.
In a small frying pan, toast the chilis (dry, no cooking oil) for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Once they are done, set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the diced onion and garlic, and let it cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Lower the heat a little bit and add the tomato and banana, cooking another 5 minutes.
Add the cinnamon, pepper, and salt into the saucepan and mix to combine.
Add the chocolate, water, and almond butter to the saucepan, and stir this until the chocolate is melted and everything is combined.
Add the chilis to the saucepan mixture and simmer everything, covered, for 20 minutes on low heat.
While the mole is simmering, bring 4 cups of vegetable bouillon to a boil on high heat in a separate pot. Then add the 2 cups of rice, lower to medium heat, and let it cook for 20 minutes.
After the mole has simmered for 20 minutes, process with an immersion blender until smooth.
Pour it back into the saucepan and continue simmering for another 10 minutes. Taste and add any ingredients to your preference.
Drain and rinse the can of black beans in a strainer over the sink. Heat in a pan or microwave and set aside.
Slice the avocado and set aside.
Once the sauce has simmered for ten minutes after blending, assemble the enchiladas. Place rice, beans, sweet potatoes, and avocado slices in a tortilla and roll it up. Pour the sauce over the tortilla and you’re ready to eat!
Notes
Take your leftover chipotle chilis out of the can and store them in a plastic or glass container in the fridge for a few weeks to use them in other recipes!
The alternative powdered version is much spicier than the version using whole chilis.
Always wear gloves when preparing chilis so you don’t burn your hands.
If the sauce is too spicy for you, try adding 1 tsp brown sugar and 1 tbsp coconut/non-dairy milk at a time until it’s mild enough.