Add a little va va vegan to the weekday menu with this chocolate smoky tofu mole in tacos with grilled calcots
“In Oaxaca, they have all kinds of mole, a kind of paste or thick sauce – yellow, green, red – but a chocolate mole is one of the most unique. This chocolate mole with smoked tofu is as satisfying as any meat dish.
Calçots are a Catalan dish of very young leeks simply grilled, slightly blackened and dressed with olive oil. A great combo for tacos.
The typically Oaxacan sauce will make double the amount you need for the tofu, so either freeze half or, if you have more guests, double the amount of tofu. You can serve this as tacos or just as a stew with rice.”
Ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
60g vegan dark chocolate
350g tomatoes, left whole
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 dried ancho chillies
2 dried chipotle chillies
2 tablespoons vegetable stock powder
170g blanched or ground almonds
2 tablespoons strong agave nectar
400g firm smoked tofu, drained and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
1 pack calcots, young leeks or spring onions, trimmed
14 corn tortillas
sea salt
To serve:
slices avocado
A fistful alfalfa sprouts
sprigs coriander
lime wedges
Method
1 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic until soft, then add the chocolate, tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon and allspice. Cook slowly over a low-medium heat for 15–20 minutes while you prepare the chillies.
2 Meanwhile, split all the dried chillies and empty out the seeds, then briefly toast the chillies in a dry frying pan until soft. Place in a ½-litre heatproof jug with the vegetable stock powder. Fill up the jug with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice.
3 Put the almonds, the chilli and stock mixture, the cooked sauce, agave nectar and 1 tablespoon salt in a powerful blender. Starting on a low speed, process together, increasing the speed as you go, until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a deep, wide frying pan.
4 Add the tofu cubes to the sauce and poach until the tofu expands slightly and the sauce is bubbling but not boiling.
5 In the meantime, roast the calçots, young leeks or spring onions in a dry frying pan or directly over a flame, turning them, until soft and slightly blackened around the edges (this makes them sweet).
6 To serve, place some of the tofu pieces and the chocolate mole in the tacos and fold so that the opening is upwards.
7 Tuck in a leek or spring onion and a few avocado slices. Top with alfalfa sprouts, the calçots and coriander. Season with salt and squeeze over some lime juice.
Recipe courtesy of Kerstin Rodgers, extracted from V is for Vegan © Quadrille
