Mole Enchilada, Grilled Tomato, and Zucchini

Fall is a time of more hearty dishes so recipes of mole are appropriate.  This dark sauce of many ingredients is savory, complex and rich and so delicious you can eat it unaccompanied of other food.  In researching recipes I found mole turns out to be the dominant ingredient.  

I recently watched Netfix’s “Chefs Table” episode of Catalonian chef Albert Adriá; younger brother of Ferran of the famous El Builli restaurant.  Albert talks about the subject of creativity and how it is a core element of his being. For home cooks like me, there are a few sparks of creativity now and then.  I am inspired by Adrian’s philosophy so I will attempt to be more experimental.  My first project in experimentation starts with this mole recipe.  It’s an attempt to incorporate this beautiful complex sauce where mole is not the dominant flavor but still infuses the dish with the incredible flavors of this dark sauce.   

Let’s get started.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 lb zucchini sliced lengthwise ¼ in thickness

16 slices fresh tomato (2-3 tomatoes) sliced ¼  in thickness

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

5-6 tablespoons mole

1 ½ cups chicken broth or water

8 corn tortillas

4 oz queso fresco, cut in cubes 1/4 inch or grated parmesan

3 tablespoons diced cilantro

Salt

Preparation

Grill Tomato and Zucchini 

Oil the grill and bring to medium hot temperature.  Lightly oil the slices of tomato and zucchini and lightly salt and pepper.  Grill vegetables on both sides for 5-8 minutes or until charred grill marks appear.  Remove from grill and set aside.

Mole

Place the mole paste in a sauté pan.  Use a wooden spoon or stiff spatula to breakup the mole paste and add chicken broth in small amounts to achieve the consistency of pancake batter that slowly runs off the spoon. Set aside.

Assembly

Warm a tortilla for about 20 seconds or until it’s flexible.then place on a serving plate. Generously top the tortilla with mole. Add a second warm tortilla over the first and top it with mole.  Top with 4 slices of tomato.  Arrange slices of zucchini over the tomato slices. Lightly salt as needed.  Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro.  

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