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Vegan grilled pepper tacos with mole sauce

Name: Vegan grilled pepper tacos with mole sauce
Total time: 50 min
Yield: makes 10-12
Ingredients: vegetable stock 350ml; dried ancho chilli 1, see notes below; dried chipotle chilli 1, see notes below; white bread 1 slice, torn into rough strips; plum tomatoes ½ x 400g tin; rapeseed oil 2 tbsp; onion 1, finely chopped; garlic 2 cloves, crushed; unsalted peanuts 20g, finely chopped; raisins 30g; dried thyme ½ tsp; cumin seeds 1 tbsp; ground cinnamon 1 tsp; ground cloves ¼ tsp; ground allspice ¼ tsp; vegan dark chocolate 50g, finely chopped; soft dark brown sugar 2 tbsp; red onion ½, finely sliced; red chilli 1, deseeded and finely sliced; lime 1, juiced; green peppers 4, halved and deseeded; small corn tortillas 10-12; coriander a small bunch, chopped; lime 1, cut into wedges

50 minutes + soaking
makes 10-12
Easy

Mole sauce is a wonderful staple of Mexican cuisine – a satisfying blend of smoky chillies, peanuts, spices and dark chocolate. It’s usually found on enchiladas but here it compliments the sweet bitterness of green peppers, blistered over the grill

By Richard Makin

June 21, 2019 at 4:01 pm

This recipe comes from Richard Makin aka School Night Vegan. Check out his expert guide to cooking with vegan ingredients here.

Ingredients

MOLE SAUCE

vegetable stock 350ml
dried ancho chilli 1, see notes below
dried chipotle chilli 1, see notes below
white bread 1 slice, torn into rough strips
plum tomatoes ½ x 400g tin
rapeseed oil 2 tbsp
onion 1, finely chopped
garlic 2 cloves, crushed
unsalted peanuts 20g, finely chopped
raisins 30g
dried thyme ½ tsp
cumin seeds 1 tbsp
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
ground cloves ¼ tsp
ground allspice ¼ tsp
vegan dark chocolate 50g, finely chopped
soft dark brown sugar 2 tbsp

PICKLED ONIONS

red onion ½, finely sliced
red chilli 1, deseeded and finely sliced
lime 1, juiced

TACOS

green peppers 4, halved and deseeded
small corn tortillas 10-12
coriander a small bunch, chopped
lime 1, cut into wedges

Method

Step 1

Bring 250ml of the vegetable stock to a boil in a pan over a medium heat. Toast the dried chillies and bread strips in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2 minutes, flipping regularly, until hot and fragrant. Tip them into the boiling stock and remove from the heat. Soak for 10 minutes, then add the tomatoes, transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Step 2

Heat the rapeseed oil in a large, deep frying pan over a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, peanuts, raisins, thyme and spices. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the onions are soft. Add everything to the food processor with the chillies and blend until smooth.
Step 3

Pour the purée back into the pan and stir in the remaining 100ml of stock, chocolate, sugar and pinch of sea salt. Bring to a simmer and stir regularly for 10 minutes or until the mixture has reduced and is thick – it should coat the back of a spoon.
Step 4

To make the pickled onions, mix together the onion, chilli and lime juice in a small bowl. Cover and chill for 20 minutes, until the onions are bright pink.
Step 5

To assemble the tacos, put the peppers on a BBQ over white-hot coals until slightly blackened and blistered, or under a hot grill until charred. Flip and repeat until fully cooked and quite soft, then remove from the heat and tear into pieces.
Step 6

Heat a tortilla over the heat of the BBQ or a griddle pan for a few seconds. Top with a good spoonful of mole sauce, some grilled pepper and a few pickled onions. Finish with a sprinkle of coriander and a squeeze of lime.