Vegetable Mole Tacos

Long-time family friend and fellow hopeless foodie Jon "The Geek" Harmon recently caused a culinary stir here in Austin when he ate and blogged about the entire menu at a local favorite taco dive, Tacodeli. As a token for his efforts, the restaurant named a delicious taco after him and allowed him to design it. This past week was Jon The Geek Week at Tacodeli, and I got to eat the Jon the Geek special. It was so scrumptious, I wish I had ordered two! Dan, unfortunately, could not try it because Tacodeli's mole sauce has cashews in it (which he may be allergic to).

I had been wanting to make a mushroom mole dish for a while, and Jon's creation inspired me to make some mole tacos Dan could eat. These came out very yummy, and to add my joy, Daniela helped me make them. She jumped right in, declaring her love for sauteing vegetables. I never thought I would say this, but I have Nintendo's Cooking Mama to thank for this. :-)

The first time I made these, I used storebought mole sauce (La Coste~na brand) and really liked them. But, I have since then updated the recipe to use my homemade crockpot mole. As all things from scratch, that was even better.

Vegetable Mole Tacos
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 large onion, cut into thin strips
1 green bell peppers, cut into thin strips
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 small eggplant, cut into thin strips
1 lb assorted mushrooms (I used a mix of portabellas and cremini), thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup mole sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 warm tortillas (I prefer corn)

1- Heat oil in a large pan. Saute all vegetables until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.

2- Add mole and water and mix well. Cook on medium until heated through.

3- Divide the mixture among the tortillas, and top with avocado and cheese.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

Each year, my mom made for Good Friday a very traditional Spanish dish for the Lenten season, Bacalao a la Vizcaina. Flaked salted cod was layered with thin potato slices, onion rings, and a very savory tomato-based sauce, infused with garlic and olives, and then baked until the potatoes were tender. This was then served hot with white rice and eggs in some shape (usually hard boiled and sliced).

As young honeymooners in Spain and Portugal, Dan and I enjoyed bacalao in many dishes during our travels. Every year since starting our family, I have continued the Lenten tradition by making Bacalao a la Vizcaina at least once a year. If I had to pick a dish that represents Spanish cooking, Bacalao a la Vizcaina would be right up there with Tortilla Espa~nola for me.

I love this dish so much, I needed to find a backup in case the world runs out of cod someday. Garbanzo beans and diced eggplant offer textural elements similar to the salted cod, and a splash of soy sauce adds a remarkable umami note.

Garbanzos a la Vizcaina

1 14 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup Spanish olives with pimientos, chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, sliced
3 cups cooked garbanzo beans, roughly mashed
1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

1- Combine fire roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, garlic, cilantro, olives, and vinegar into a bowl and set aside.
2- Toss the potato slices with 2 tablespoons of oil and salt and pepper to taste.
3- Toss the eggplant with the soy sauce.
4- Brush remaining oil onto the bottom and sides of a 4-quart slow cooker insert.
5- Layer the following into the slow cooker insert:
1/3 of the potatoes
1/2 of the garbanzos
1/2 of the eggplant
1/2 of the tomato sauce mixture
1/2 of the onions
1/3 of the potatoes
rest of the garbanzos
rest of the eggplant
rest of the tomato sauce mixture
rest of the onions
rest of the potatoes
6 - Place the tomato slices as the top layer.
7- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.