Recipe for Sonoran-style green chile tamale pie with melty Mexican cheese, and cream-style corn. Topped with with a slightly sweet Molé Cómodo made with peanut butter, tahini, Dutch-process cocoa, and Abuelita chocolate.
Servings: 8 servings
Recipe for Southwestern, Sonoran-style green chile and cheese tamale pie with a quick and easy Molé Cómodo made with peanut butter, tahini and Dutch process cocoa.Be sure to use masa harina and not cornmeal 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.
A note on masa: Use masa harina (like Maseca or Bob's Red Mill), not cornmeal or corn flour. The texture and flavor are completely different, and masa harina is what gives this its tamale character.
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