Carne Asada Mole Enchiladas

Holy fancy. Carne asada + mole, all in one dish. This is a double post really, but with a final dish that brings it all together.

I made chicken mole a few months after having a delightful rendition in Chicago. Recently, I went to a restaurant and spotted mole enchiladas. No brainer! Better yet, I ordered them with carne asada.

Simply put, carne asada is roasted or grilled meat, when translated from Spanish to English. The history is not simple, as Latin American and Mexican cuisines have a broad range of locations and cultures. It's roots stem back to the 1500s, as beef was a common commodity. The meat was often cooked over a fire and sliced thin, and that's starting to sound like the version I know and love. It's not a specific mix of ingredients that make it, but rather the cooking process.

I chatted a little about the history of mole in my prior post, with origins with the Aztecs. Mole is known as the chocolate dish, but in my experience, that's not the flavor I pick up from the versions I've experienced. It's got a flavorful mixture of spices and is heavy on the chiles, which surprisingly doesn't make it overly spicy. Of course, I've no doubt there are so many alterations, I'll never try them all.

It started out with a flank steak of a little more than 2 pounds. Anywhere in this range is fine, but some company brought this over and sized up - never a problem with a roast dish. I made a marinade with avocado oil, soy sauce, cilantro, lemon juice, lime juice (or pick one and use a little more), garlic, cumin, and chili powder. A bag would work well, but I used a container and just flipped it a few times. Overall, I let it marinate about 6 hours.

My intent was to grill this, but thanks to a low gas supply, the cast iron skillet had to do. I cooked it for about 6 minutes on each side over medium heat. It wound up medium-rare (and in some spots medium), which was a-okay for me.

I took it off the heat, then let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it open. 

Next up: mole. I made it very similar to the prior version, but swapped out a few bits. I first added some oil to my large cast iron skillet and cooked down my onion for about 5 minutes. Next, I added in my sliced dried peppers, pepitas, almonds, star anise, cloves and garlic. I let it all cook for another 5 minutes or so to roast the nuts and whole seasonings, then began adding in the remaining spices. My last step was adding the chicken broth, then heating it to a simmer and letting it all cook for about 20 minutes. Once the peppers were soft, it was ready to roll.

I scooped it all into a my food processor and blended it well, until smooth. Note here: if it is too thick, it's okay to add a little water to create more of a sauce. Next, I added the sauce back to the pan and heated it to medium. I added some dark chocolate and  stirred it well.

At this point, my house smelled the way I envision food heaven does. Now for enchilada assembly. I got a large casserole dish out and added some corn tortillas. I took the chopped steak and mixed it with some shredded cheese for the enchilada filling. Then, I closed the enchiladas, spread the mole on top, and topped with some shredded cheese. I only baked it for about 15 minutes: I wanted to warm it up and melt the cheese, but not cook the steak any further.

That worked out great, and a star was born.

A dash of cilantro for garnish added some freshness and a little more flavor.

This was fantastic.

Mole for another win. The addition of carne asada does add a few more steps, but overall this is a pretty simple dish. I mentioned the fact I'd made mole in a conversation with my mom today, and her response was, "Isn't that hard to make?" Nope. Not really.

Regarding the peppers, I grabbed the dried ones at my local grocery, easy peasy. In my first mole, I used a can of chipotle peppers, but snagged a jar this time; perfect to keep around for a little while for further recipes.

Carne Asada Mole Enchiladas Recipe

Ingredients:

For the carne asada:

1.5-2 pounds flank steak

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup avocado oil (or olive oil)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup lime juice

4 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons pepper (or more to taste)

1 teaspoon salt (add more if using low sodium soy sauce)

For the mole:

2 tablespoons avocado oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 dried ancho chiles

2 dried pasilia chiles

1 tablespoon cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1 tablespoon sliced almonds

2 tablespoons minced garlic (2 cloves garlic)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 star anise seeds

2 whole cloves

2 teaspoons orange zest

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 tablespoons jarred chipotle chiles - (or 1 dried chipotle chile)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 small bay leaf

1 tablespoon raisins

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

1 ounce dark chocolate, chopped (I used 86% cacao)

For the enchiladas:

1 1/2 cup shredded colby jack

8-10 corn tortillas (softened in the microwave for 10 seconds)

Fresh cilantro, for garnish

Instructions:

For the carne asada:

Add flank steak to a bag or container. Add marinade ingredients and let sit for 4 hours, flipping occasionally. Let the marinade sit for at least 4 hours. Cook in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, until desired temperature is met. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

For the mole:

In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté and stir frequently until softened. Rinse and slice dried chiles into smaller strips, removing the stem and seeds. Add chiles to the pan. Reduce heat to medium, then add pumpkin seeds, almonds, garlic, cumin, coriander, anise, and cloves to the saucepan. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, until garlic becomes fragrant, stirring continuously. Sauté for approximately 2-3 minutes or until chiles start to soften. Scoop the mixture into the pot with the chicken broth mixture and stir. Add the cinnamon, bay leaf, raisins, and oregano to the saucepan and mix well. Bring to simmer, cover, and reduce to a simmer. Cook until dried chiles are softened, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour or spoon into a large blender or food processer. Blend until smooth, at least 1 minute. Return to pot, stir in the tomato paste, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate. Allow sauce to cool for a few minutes, then stir in chocolate. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

For the enchildas:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Get a glass casserole dish and add tortillas side by side, making taco shapes Slice carne asada into smaller pieces, then add to a medium bowl with 3/4 cup shredded cheese. Scoop into tortillas. Spoon mole sauce over the top to close enchiladas, then top with remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

adapted from carne asada