This week for Friday night Shabbat dinner, we made goat cheese enchiladas. No brisket in this house! We buck tradition a bit, but the truly important thing is that we are all together to end the week and enjoy a little time and space apart from the stress of our lives.

This is a recipe I love from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (food guru). It’s great for a Friday dinner party because it’s not too time consuming. The mole, however, does take a bit of time (you will need a mortar & pestle). Of course, you can always save time if you buy mole pre-made. If you do that, please get a fancy red mole! No skimping!

This recipe feeds 4-5 people well. I had 6 mouths to feed so I made the recipe 50% bigger and fed myself and K for lunch with the leftovers the following day. So good –even reheated.

Goat Cheese Enchiladas with Corn & Red Mole

1/4 cup gold raisins
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tblsp. olive oil
1 white onion, finely diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 & 1/2 cup corn kernels
1 & 1/2 cup grated Jack cheese
2 cups soft goat cheese
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Salt & freshly milled pepper
1 cup olive oil or veggie oil for frying
12 corn tortillas
Red Mole (see next recipe)
1/2 cup sour cream

Cover the raisins with warm water (to plump) and set aside. Brown the pine nuts in a medium dry skillet, then remove. Add the oil to the same skillet and cook the onion with the garlic over medium heat to soften, about 3 minutes, then add the corn and cook for 1 minute more. Drain the raisins and put them in a bowl with the pine nuts, onion-corn mixture, and 1 cup of the Jack, the goat cheese, and cilantro. Mix it all together well and season with a little salt and pepper.

Fry the tortillas until just cooked. Set aside momentarily on a paper towel. Don’t, however, let those bad boys cool off or get crispy and hard. Make the mole. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place a tablespoon of the filling on the bottom of each tortilla and roll up (see picture). Sauce the tops with the mole and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Serve with sour cream on top.

Red Chile Mole

1 & 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 & 1/4 tsp each anise seeds, cumin, and dried Mexican oregano
2 & 1/2 tblsp. veggie oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup ground mild red chile
1 oz. Mexican chocolate, coarsely chopped
Salt
1 tsp sherry vinegar

Toast the sees and oregano in a dry skillet, then remove to a plate as soon as fragrant. Grind in a mortar or spice grinder.

Heat the oil in a 2 qt. saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring frequently for about 4 minutes, or until it’s brown on the edges, then add garlic and the ground spices and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat, let the pan cool for a minute, then stir the ground chile into the onions along with 1 & 1/2 cups water. Return to the stove and bring to a boil, stirring slowly but constantly so that the chile doesn’t burn. It will thicken as it cooks, so plant to add another 1/4 cup water or more to thin it out a little.

Add the chocolate and stir until it’s melted. Simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the vinegar to bring all the flavors together. Taste and add salt, if needed.

Thanks J & B for the olive oil from Israel!