The Mole Enchiladas That Led to 3 Marriages in My Family

This is a mole enchiladas love story. My grandmother made the from-scratch version of these chicken enchiladas de mole for my grandfather. He loved the dish so much that he proposed to her that night.

My mother, Maria Antonieta López, made these enchiladas for my father on their first date in California. They had been writing to each other for almost 18 months. His visit meant that he was serious and was looking to finally settle down. Unfortunately, my mom was not a very good cook at the time. She could barely boil water. So with my grandmother’s guidance and by modifying the recipe to include store-bought (my family buys Doña Maria’s Mole sauce, a very popular brand), my mother succeeded in making delicious enchiladas de mole and landed herself an engagement ring. (If you want to make your own mole, here is Familia Kitchen’s Recipe Contest-winning Your Family’s Favorite Mole recipe.)

Third time’s the charm, right? I had been dating my now-husband for almost three years and wondering if he had any plans to propose. My mom suggested on his next trip out from New York, I should invite him over to their house where she would make her family-famous enchiladas de mole. He loved them and proposed a few weeks later — making me promise that I would make these enchiladas regularly for him throughout our marriage.

I do.

Here is my mother’s and my recipe for our family’s marriage-proposal-inspiring dish:

Ready to Make These Romantic Mole Enchiladas?

Chicken Enchiladas de Mole de Mi Mamá

Recipe by Patricia López-Piotrowski

4.5 from 11 votes

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings

3 to 4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• El Relleno

• 2 cups chicken, roasted and shredded

• 1/2 cup Mexican crema

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

• 1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced

• El Mole

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 1 to 2 triangles chocolate

• 4 tsp. brown sugar

• 1 cup mole sauce

• Las Enchiladas

• 8 corn tortillas

• 1/4 cup pepitas, toasted

• 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled

• 1/4 cup onion, thinly sliced

Directions

• Pour the chicken stock into a wide pan and bring to a boil.
• Add the mole sauce and chocolate triangles. Stir. When the sauce and chocolate are fully dissolved in the stock, turn heat to medium low.
• One by one, submerge the tortillas into the piping-hot mole rojo. Place each tortilla on a plate, open, and spoon 2 to 3 Tbsps shredded chicken into its center.
• Over the chicken, sprinkle 1 to 2 Tbps of mozzarella cheese, 1 tsp. of cream, and 1 to 2 Tbsps of the sliced onions.
• Fold each tortilla into a thin roll (like a taquito) and garnish with a sprinkling of queso fresco, onion slivers, crema and toasted pepitas.
• Serve each person 2 to 3 enchiladas, accompanied by a side of Mexican rice and beans. Enjoy! Especially if you want to get engaged.

Notes

• Familia Kitchen doesn’t usually list specific brands in our recipes, but Patricia and her mother’s mole specifically calls for the following three products, available at most grocery stores: Doña Maria Mole sauce, Abuelita chocolate tablets (which have a subtle, almost-bitter, deep flavor—different from U.S. chocolate), and Cacique Crema Mexicana.
• You can use white sugar in the mole sauce, but Patricia’s mother recommends using café azucar or brown sugar because it is sweeter and richer.