Red Mole with Cheese Enchiladas

No, not 'Cheese Enchiladas with Red Mole,' definitely 'Red Mole with Cheese Enchiladas'. A recipe worthy of being the first in this blog. This recipe is adapted from the book How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman. The book is an amazing comprehensive compilation of vegetarian cuisine, and it has rarely let me down. I want to try everything in this book. I made these with some friends the other night, for the second time. I'm not going to lie, it takes a long time to cook, but it's well worth it, and I'm working on trying to figure out some shortcuts that I will share if I do. But for some things there are no shortcuts.

• 12 to 15 medium dried guajillo chiles
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 4 roma tomatoes
• 2 thick slices white bread
• 1 quart vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. ground allspice
• 2 tsp. anise seeds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 24 small corn tortillas
• 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• lime wedges

1. The original recipe says you can use any type of dried chiles: New Mexico, mulatto, pasilla, guajillo, ancho, etc., but I have used guajillo both times I made it and LOVED it. Also, when I went to buy the chiles at the local Mexican market this last time, the owner told me that mole is traditionally made with seven different kinds of chiles, so mix and match, if you're feeling adventurous. So first, toast, clean, and soak the chiles. I put the chiles on a plate in the toaster oven this time for a couple of minutes, and they puffed up when they toasted. This made it easy to cut the ends off and pour the seeds out of them when cleaning them. Then I put them in a bowl and poured boiling water over them and let them soak for half an hour.
2. Next, put the chiles, peanut butter (the original recipe called for 2 cups of nuts, which I used last time, but peanut butter was a great shortcut this time), tahini (or sesame seeds), cocoa, onion, garlic, tomatoes, and bread (use corn tortillas for a gluten-free alternative) in a blender with enough stock to get the blender going. We had to do this in two batches, and it's pretty tough work for a blender, even an old-fashioned Osterizer. I might try using an immersion blender next time. Blend these together, getting the mixture as smooth as possible.
3. Put 1/4 cup of the oil (the recipe calls for a neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn oil, but I used peanut) in a large pot over medium heat. Add the blended mixture and all of the spices. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. It really didn't take much salt and pepper, and you can taste as you go and add those later, too. Cook the mixture, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it begins to color and become fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is deeply colored and nearly dry, another 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Turn the heat back up to medium-high and slowly stir in the remaining stock. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat so the sauce barely bubbles. Cook, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid as needed, for an hour or so, until the sauce is thick and smooth. Unfortunately, I don't think you can really shortcut this. I think the sauce needs all this time to get all infused with all of that spicy goodness. Taste and adjust the seasoning and add some brown sugar. The original recipe calls for adding 1 or 2 Tbsp. of brown sugar, but I like this mole sweet, so I used 6 Tbsp. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaves and keep the sauce warm. You can make the mole ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days if you need to.
5. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spoon a thin layer of the mole into the bottom of a 9 x 12-inch baking dish, or as many baking dishes as you will need for your enchiladas. The recipe calls for using 24 tortillas, but we just used all of the tortillas in the package from the market. I think it was about 30. Put some of the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the tortillas, one at a time, until softened and pliable, about 10 seconds each. Drain the tortillas on paper towels.
6. Sprinkle about 2 Tbsp of the Monterey Jack cheese in the center of each tortilla, roll tightly, and put them in the baking dish, seam side down. Pack the rolls in tightly with each other. Cover the top with some more mole (but be sure to save some for topping later) and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Garnish the enchiladas with more mole, queso fresco, cilantro, and lime juice. Another thing the recipe suggests topping the enchiladas with is chopped hard-boiled eggs. I think I'll try that sometime.
8. Enjoy! Yum!