Stir-Fried Nopales and Mushrooms with Mole Sauce

/

Enjoy this healthy and delicious Mexican recipe from guest blogger Savitri, offering the blood sugar lowering benfits of nopales (cactus) as well the antioxidants of chocolate.

Ingredients

  • 3-4 cups chopped, steamed nopales (cactus)

  • 1 pound mushrooms (sliced into 2 or 3 pieces)

  • 1/2 onion

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • ½ tsp. cumin

  • ½ tsp. oregano

  • Ghee as needed

  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

  1. In a large pan over medium heat, fry the oregano and cumin with ghee for a few seconds.

  2. Chop the onion and garlic. Add to the pan and cook until the onion becomes translucent.

  3. Add the mushrooms to the pan.

  4. Add the nopales to the pan.

  5. Let all the flavors to mix.

  6. Add salt and pepper.

Mole sauce

Ingredients

  • 2 dried guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded

  • 2 dried ancho chillies, stemmed and seeded

  • 2 dried california chiles, stemmed and seeded

  • 2 tomatoes

  • 1/2 onion, thinly sliced

  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

  • 1 tbsp. ghee

  • 1 tbsp. cumin seeds
    ½ tsp. fennel seed

  • ½ tsp. coriander

  • 1 cinnamon stick

  • 2 whole cloves

  • 3 peppercorns

  • ¼ cup raisins

  • 2 corn tortillas, cut into strips

  • 1/3 cup almonds (soaked overnight and peeled)

  • 1/3 cup of brown sesame seeds

  • 1 ounce dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

  • 1-2 tbsp. jaggery

  • 1 tsp. salt or to taste.

Preparation

  1. Toast the chillies in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until warm and aromatic, about 3 minutes.

  2. Then soak the chillies in boiling water until they are soft.

  3. Cook tomatoes in a dry skillet on medium-high heat until soft and blackened, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add them to the blender.

  4. Toast tortilla strips in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Or you may put them in your toaster. Add them to the blender.

  5. In a pan, sauté the raisins with ghee until they puff. Add to the blender.

  6. Sauté the almonds, and add them to the blender.

  7. Sauté the sesame seeds until they have a light golden color, and add them to the blender.

  8. Sauté all the spices with ghee.

  9. Using a paper towel, remove the excess ghee. Grind in a spice grinder and add to the blender.

  10. Add about 2 ½ cups of water. Blend everything.

  11. Pour chile sauce into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in chocolate, jaggery, and salt.

  12. Bring mixture to a simmer; stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, 10 to 15 minutes.

**Serve the mole over the nopales and mushrooms. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top of the mole.

Enjoy!