Easy Chicken Mole Quesadillas
Savor bold flavors with these Easy Chicken Mole Quesadillas! Featuring a smoky homemade mole sauce with California Prune purée, rotisserie chicken, and Oaxaca cheese, this quick recipe is a must-try.
Ingredients
For the easy mole sauce:
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 dried ancho chili stem removed, seeded, torn into small pieces
- 1 dried guajillo chili stem removed, seeded, torn into small pieces
- ⅛ of a white onion diced
- 1 small clove garlic
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- ¼ cup canned fire-roasted tomatoes with liquid
- ¾ tsp cocoa powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of ground clove
- ¾ cups California Prune puree *see notes for recipe
- salt to taste
For the quesadillas:
- 1-2 TBSP olive oil
- 8 flour or corn tortillas
- 2 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 5 TBSP prepared easy mole sauce.
- 2 TBSP minced cilantro
- 10 ounces shredded Real California Oaxaca cheese
- To serve: lime wedges cilantro leaves, and ¼ cup crema
Instructions
To make the mole:
- In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, coat the bottom generously with 2 TBSP of olive oil and turn the heat to medium. Once the oil is hot, add the ancho chili, guajillo chili, diced onion, and garlic. Stir constantly, allowing the mixture to cook for about 5 minutes. The onions should be soft, and the chilis will be very aromatic and become a darker color. Transfer the mixture to a blender and return the pot to the heat.
- Allow the pot to heat back up, then add the pepitas to toast. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes until they become fragrant and develop a darker color. Then, transfer the pepitas to the blender along with chicken stock, fire-roasted tomatoes, cocoa powder, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and ground clove. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
- Pour the blended mixture back into the pot and stir in the California Prune puree until completely incorporated. Allow to simmer on low heat for ten minutes. Add a little chicken stock or water if you want the sauce to be thinner, or allow it to simmer longer to make the sauce thicker. Add salt to taste.
To make the quesadillas:
- Warm a skillet over medium heat.
- In a bowl mix the shredded rotisserie chicken with 4-5 TBSP of the prepared mole sauce.
- Once hot, lightly grease the skillet with olive oil. Depending on the size of your skillet, place a tortilla or two in the pan and scatter one-half of each tortilla with 2 TBSP of the shredded Real California Oaxaca cheese,1 ½ - 2 TBSP of the mole chicken, a sprinkle of minced cilantro, and top with another 1 ½ -2 tsp of the shredded Real California Oaxaca cheese.
- Fold the tortilla over so that the cheese begins to melt and seal it shut. After 1 minute, when the tortilla is golden brown on the bottom, flip and cook on the other side for another 30 seconds—1 minute.
- Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and ingredients until you have 8 quesadillas. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of crema, and more of the minced cilantro.
Notes
How to make prune puree:
- 16 ounces of pitted California Prunes
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
- The mole recipe itself yields approximately ½ of a quart. Allow to cool, and store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- To store the chicken after combined with the mole:
Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 2quesadillasCalories: 479kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 33gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 11gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 844mgPotassium: 296mgFiber: 4gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1452IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 79mgIron: 2mg