Chicken Mole Enchiladas

This one is for my good friend J.  She and I were roommates for quite a few years in our twenties, and we both enjoyed the Enchiladas con Mole from La Cocina & Cantina restaurant in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

This recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes.  The recipe as it is written calls for serving the chicken in whole pieces over rice.  The first time I made this I kept thinking how good it would be made into enchiladas.  I decided it was time!

To start, I cooked the chicken according to the recipe.  After the chicken was cooked, I removed it from the sauce and shredded it.  I then used the shredded chicken to fill corn tortillas.  The cooking sauce became the enchilada sauce, and it was all topped with Jack cheese.  Yum!

The leftovers reheated pretty well.  They weren’t quite as good as the first night, but still good.  And you can’t beat having a dinner you can just pop in the oven!  I had two extra enchiladas that I froze before cooking.  When I take them out to eat I will report back to let you know how well these freeze!

Filling the Tortillas

I Could Only Fit 10 Enchiladas in My 9x13" Dish

The Two Exra Enchiladas

Yum!

Chicken Mole Enchiladas

(Click here to print)

For the chicken:

• 1 14½ oz. can diced tomatoes
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
• 3 cloves garlic, quartered
• 2 canned jalapeno peppers, drained
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons raisins
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 1 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut up and skinned

For the enchiladas:

• 12 or so corn tortillas
• Vegetable oil
• 8 oz. Jack cheese, shredded
• Chopped cilantro, optional
• Sour cream, optional

If you prefer a less-spicy sauce, cut the jalapeno peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds.  If you like your sauce a little spicy, leave the peppers whole.

To make the mole sauce, place the tomatoes (including their juices), onions, almonds, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cocoa powder, raisins, sesame seeds, sugar, salt, and spices in a blender or food processor.  Process until the mixture is a coarse puree.

Sprinkle the tapioca into a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker.  Add the chicken and then the sauce.  Cover and cook on a low-heat setting for 9 to 11 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.  (NOTE:  I find chicken cooks faster in my slow cooker; check for doneness at around 6 or 7 hours and stop cooking if the chicken is cooked through)

Remove the chicken from the cooker and place it on a plate.  Stir the sauce; keep it in the slow cooker on the “warm” stetting (if your slow cooker has one) to keep the sauce warm.  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken, discarding the bones.  You should have around 4 cups of shredded chicken.  If the chicken seems dry, add a little mole sauce to moisten it.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Put about ¼ inch of the vegetable oil in a small skillet, and place over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, cook the tortillas one at a time until they are softened, about 10 seconds each.  You may need to add more oil to the pan partway through cooking.  Drain the tortillas on paper towels.

Coat the bottom of a large baking dish with a little of the mole sauce.  Place about ¼ cup of shredded chicken down the center of each tortilla and roll it up.  Place the tortillas seam-side down in the prepared baking dish.  After all the tortillas are filled, pour the mole sauce over the enchiladas.  Sprinkle the Jack cheese on top.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the cheese and sauce are bubbly.  Garnish with cilantro and sour cream, if desired, and serve.

Serves 4 – 6