Duck and Sweet Potato Enmoladas
New Mexican Mole
Enmoladas are similar to the more familiar Mexican enchiladas, but with a mole sauce instead of a chile sauce. And where enchiladas are usually baked in the sauce as a casserole, enmoladas are usually stuffed with fillings, rolled, and plated then the sauce is ladled on top. The word enmolada translates to “covered in mole.”
The inspiration for this duck and sweet potato version comes from a menu item called Enmoladas de Pato at Sazón restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Originally from Mexico City, Chef Fernando Olea was named Best Chef Southwest 2022 by the James Beard Foundation for his unique interpretation of contemporary and traditional Mexican dishes.
The menu states that mole is a sauce of complex flavors that usually includes toasted and ground spices, seeds, nuts, chocolate and chile. Many mole recipes contain more than thirty ingredients and some recipes have five varieties of chile alone. Moles can be defined by their color such as rojo, verde, and negro; the town they are from such as Puebla, Oaxaca, Michoacan; and social class, such as pobres and ricos.
Not only does the Chef offer a tasting of his unique moles at the restaurant, he also sells them online so we can enjoy them at home!
Enmoladas Recipe
Sweet Potato
- sweet potato
- olive oil
- ground cumin
- ground cinnamon
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Scrub sweet potato well. Prick in multiple places with a fork. Microwave for 8 minutes, turning over at the halfway point.
Let cool to the touch, scrape out the flesh, then season flesh with a bit of olive oil, a light dusting of cumin and cinnamon, and salt and pepper to taste.
New Mexican Mole
Created by Chef Olea to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the City of Santa Fe. His New Mexican Mole contains red chile, apricots, roasted pecans, pinon nuts and white chocolate. The flavor is both sweet and savory and it is medium hot.
The large mural (pictured above) in the main dining room, painted by Federico Leon De La Vega, a well known artist from Mexico City, illustrates all of the ingredients found in this mole.
Gently heat mole in a small sauce pan. Add a bit of water if it is too thick.
Roasted Duck
- duck meat
- olive oil
- white onion, fine dice
- mole sauce
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper
I use leftover roasted duck for this recipe. Simply chop the duck meat.
Sauté diced onion in a bit of olive oil. Add chopped duck meat to heat through. Add a few heaping spoonfuls of the mole sauce to flavor the duck. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Compose the Enmoladas
- corn tortillas
- avocado oil
- prepared sweet potatoes
- prepared duck
- cilantro, rough chopped
Briefly fry the corn tortillas in hot avocado oil for a few seconds per side so they are pliable (not crispy). Remove to paper towels.
Place tortillas on a work surface. Smear mashed sweet potato down the middle. Spoon duck mixture on top. Finish with chopped cilantro.
Roll into a cylinder and plate with the seam side down.
To Serve
- new mexico mole sauce
- cotija cheese, crumbled
- radish, thinly sliced
- jalapeño, thinly sliced
- pinenuts
- cilantro sprigs
- whole radishes
- mexican limes, sliced
Ladle warm mole sauce over the top. Garnish with cheese, radish, jalapeño, pinenuts, and cilantro sprigs. Serve whole radishes and limes on the side.
Note
Enmoladas can be completely smothered in the mole sauce, or moderately covered with a generous ladle of mole down the center. It is a matter of preference. Add more or less sauce to your liking.