Chocolate Mole Mahi

This dish, from the Seven Fishes Seven Wines Pairing Feast, was inspired by Oaxaca, Mexico and pairs the Mahi with the Sposato Cabernet Sauvignon

By Gretchen Hanson / Photography By Deny Howeth | December 14, 2017

Ingredients

Chocolate Chile Mole

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions
2 green plantains sliced
1 red bell pepper
3 15-ounce cans fire roasted Muir Glen whole tomatoes
1 cup raw almond slivers or whole pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoons allspice
1/4 tablespoons cloves or 8 whole cloves
4 whole cinnamon sticks
6 corn tortillas torn into small pieces
8 dried Mulato chiles, stems removed
1 cup unsweetened cranberries or raisins
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 tablespoon sea salt

Mahi

2 pounds mahi filets
Olive oil
Sea salt
White pepper

Preparation

Dice yellow onions and red bell pepper. Sauté in olive oil until browned. Add raw almond slivers and let slightly brown as well, remove from heat and set aside.

Heat vegetable stock in small saucepan and add Mulato chiles and cook until softened. Puree.

In heavy stockpot add remaining ingredients, onion mixture and pureed chiles. Cook on low heat, stirring frequently to avoid sticking or scalding, until mole is thick and flavors have melded. Remove cinnamon sticks, remove from heat and puree entire batch.

Preheat oven to 350°. Season mahi. Heat sauté pan over high heat with olive oil, and sear both sides of mahi until browned. You are not cooking through, just searing the outside. On oven-safe platter, place filets topped liberally with mole sauce. Cook for 15 minutes until fish is cooked through and sauce is bubbly. Serve on corn tortillas.