Enmoladas

Directions

1. To cook the chicken, place 4 quarts of water in a large stockpot along with chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and maintain a gentle simmer for 15 minutes. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. Cover and remove the pot from the heat until ready to serve. Reserve enough broth to make the mole and save the remaining broth for another use.

2. To make the mole, heat a comal or dry cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, and garlic to cook. Turn the vegetables a few times, until they are blackened in spots and the tomatoes start to burst, 10-15 minutes. Peel the garlic once it’s cool enough to handle.

3. In the same pan over medium-low heat, add the ancho chiles, almonds, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Toast everything, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until the almonds are golden brown, 2-3 minutes.

4. In a small saucepan over high heat, add 2 cups of the reserved broth, the toasted anchos and dates, bringing to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and let it sit until the chiles and dates are soft and pulpy, about 10 minutes.

5. Transfer the chiles, dates and 1 cup of the cooking broth to a blender along with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, almonds, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth if needed and blend until completely smooth. Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding the solids.

6. Heat the avocado oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the mole, chocolate, coconut sugar and salt, stirring until the chocolate melts. Simmer the mole gently for the flavors to meld, about 20 minutes. If it’s too thick, add a splash more broth. At this stage, you can also add more salt or coconut sugar to your taste.

7. To process the chicken, remove the meat from the bones, shredding, and discarding the bones.

8. Preheat your oven to 350F and start building the mole enchiladas. Spread just enough mole onto the bottom of a 9”x 13” baking dish to cover the base. Next, one at a time, dip each tortilla into the warmed mole. Set the sauce-soaked tortilla on a plate. Place on some of the shredded chicken, rolling up the tortilla to contain the filling inside.

9. Place the filled tortillas seam side down in the baking dish. Pour additional mole over the top.

10. Bake the enchiladas uncovered for 15-20 minutes, to heat through.

11. If the mole has dried out during the bake, you can top the dish with more warmed mole. Garnish the enmoladas with a drizzle of crema, queso fresco, and a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.