Mole Mushroom Tamales: I remember when I first became a vegetarian years ago it’s was the hardest adjustment to make during Christmas time…. because TAMALES. I was taught at a young age to make my own tamales and wanted to continue on with that tradition… but prepared masa 99.9% of the time has lard in it. I was going crazy calling every Mexican market that sold prepared masa and googling vegan tamales to see if I could buy 10 pounds of lard-less masa. No luck. It was something the city was in desperate need of, and yet no one was doing it. I ended up making my own masa that year.
Fast forward a few years later and Northgate Gonzalez Market introduced a vegan prepared masa made with olive oil. It made me so happy to be able to continue my posada traditions of making tamales… but now with a masa that fits my needs.
This unique holiday season I won’t need as much masa for posadas as I have in the past, but I still want to observe this joyful time after all the 2020 hardships. I will prepare a small batch of my mole mushroom tamales with Northgate’s olive oil masa and celebrate intimately with my household because Christmas time and my traditions will never fade.
Ingredients for Mole Mushroom Tamales:
- 16 Corn Husks
- 2 pounds of Northgate Olive Oil Masa
- 4 cartons of mushrooms (cleaned and chopped in half)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt to taste
- 1 cup of mole + more to drizzle on top
- Sesame seeds
You will need a Tamal steamer for this recipe. 🙂
Directions:
- Steep corn husks in hot water from faucet while you prepare your filling. Set Aside
- Preheat oven to 400 fahrenheit.
- Divide mushrooms among two baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil. Mix with hands. Salt to liking.
- Place mushrooms in oven for 25 minutes to roast. Remove from oven and place in a bowl.
- Make mole per directions.
To assemble mole mushroom tamales:
- Place about 4 TABLESPOONS on NORTHGATE olive oil masa on corn husk, by patting it flat, or spreading it with a spoon.
- In the middle of masa put in 1 tablespoon of mushrooms and top with 1 tablespoon of mole.
- Wrap tamale by folding each side of the masa to touch like a taco. Then press along the edges to enclose filling. Now wrap corn husk and tie at the end to secure.
- Pour boiling hot water in the steamer right.
- Put tamales in TAMALE steamer top facing up, and cover the top with more corn husks and a damp kitchen towel. Close steamer with lid.
- Cook medium heat for about 60- 75 minutes.
- Tamales are done when the masa is no longer sticks to the husk.
