Christmastime is officially tamale season here in the Sonoran Desert, and according to my inside sources It’s also tamale season at the North Pole. My vegetarian recipe for Sonoran-style, green chile and cheese tamale pie is topped with a quick and easy Molé Sauce made with peanut butter, tahini and Dutch process cocoa. It was developed for The Unofficial Elf Cookbook with Buddy the Elf in mind so it’s slightly sweet and very chocolatey yet still appropriate for dinner for regular old humans.
Servings: 8 servings
Christmastime is officially tamale season here in the Sonoran Desert, and according to my inside sources It's also tamale season at the North Pole. My recipe for green chile and cheese tamale pie with a quick and easy Molé Cómodo made with peanut butter, tahini and Dutch process cocoa, is excerpted from The Unofficial Elf Cookbook, and was written with Buddy the Elf in mind. It's a dish fit for any elf - slightly sweet and very chocolatey yet still appropriate for dinner for regular old humans. Be sure to use corn masa and not corn meal or corn flour for the tamale pie.
Ingredients
Molé Cómodo
- 1 tablet (about 1.3 ounces) Mexican chocolate, such as Abuelita
- ½ small white onion coarsely chopped about ¼ cup
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- One 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth or stock
- ¼ cup unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
- 2-3 tablespoons mild or hot red chile powder
- 1 tablespoons Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 6-inch corn tostadas broken into pieces or 4 unbroken corn tortilla chips.
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
Tamale Pie
- Ingredients
- 1 cup corn masa masa harina
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- ½ cup cream-style corn
- 1 4-oz can diced green chiles
- 1 cup shredded white Mexican cheese such as queso quesadilla or queso Oaxaca
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for serving
Instructions
- Blend all molé ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add additional salt, pepper and chile powder if desired. Set aside until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the masa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, evaporated milk and melted butter. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the egg mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the cottage cheese, corn, diced chiles and cheese. Pour into a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan or 9-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned and bubbling.
- Spoon warm molé over the tamale pie, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately with additional molé on the side.
Notes
The molé can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Hungry for More? Buy the Unofficial Elf Cookbook, The Unofficial Yellowstone Cookbook and the Taste of Tucson Cookbook!
