When your food truck biz is rockin', the next step is to open a fresh new take-out joint.

That's the case with Tamale Co., now open in Altamonte Springs.

Owner Jennifer Tamayo raves about her restaurant's Chicken Mole Tamales, which is one of their most popular dishes.

"This is thousands and thousands of years of traditional Mexican cuisine," she said.

Describing the taste of mole, however, isn't the easiest thing in the world.

"It's, like, sweet and sour," she smiled. "You don't taste the nuts, but you do taste a little bit of the chocolate ... There's 10 different types of chili peppers. There's almonds, there's cashews."

For the dish, you'll have a few pots boiling at once. In one of them, Tamayo melts Abuelita chocolate.

"We throw our secret weapon in there," she said. "They do everything with it in Mexico."

Let's cook!

Chicken Mole Tamales (with Chicharrones on the side)

Ingredients:  

  • 8 large dried chile mulatos
  • 8 large dried pasilla
  • 8 ancho chiles
  • 4 large dried guajillo chiles
  • 6/8 tbsp corn oil
  • 1/2 slivered almonds, toasted lightly
  • 1/2 dark raisins
  • 1/4 pumpkin seeds, toasted lightly
  • 1/4 pecans, in pieces, toasted lightly
  • 1/4 peanuts
  • 4 slice challa bread torn in pieces
  • 1/4 sesame seeds, toasted lightly
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/4 tsp dried marjoram
  • 1/4 tsp dried Mexican oregano
  • 4 medium avocado leaves
  • 1 1/2 small sticks cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground star anise
  • 2 small cloves
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 3 small black peppercorns
  • 2 large bananas
  • 1 large tomato roasted
  • 3 large tomatillos
  • 5 clove garlic roasted
  • 1 medium onion roasted
  • 10/12 rich homemade chicken broth
  • 2 large tablets Mexican chocolate abuelitas mixed with cinnamon, almonds and vanilla
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 whole yellow onion blend with chicken broth
  • 1 whole white onion blend with chicken broth
  • 1 whole red onion blend with chicken broth

Directions:

  1. Have all ingredients together. In stock pot, add ½ gallon chicken broth with 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to boil.
  2. Add to boiling broth all the dried chiles with all the spices. Bring heat to medium low. Let all spices and chiles simmer together for 40-45 minutes.
  3. While broth is cooking, toast slightly all nuts together.
  4. When done roasting, put the onions and nuts in a blender with 2 cups of chicken broth and blend them.
  5. Add the mix to the stock with the rest of the ingredients.
  6. Lower heat and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes adding broth as needed.
  7. In the last 20 minutes, blend the tomatillos, tomatoes and bananas with roasted garlic cloves and medium onions.
  8. Add chicken broth to the mix, blend and add to the crock pot. Stir for 5 minutes.
  9. Lastly, add the 2 tablets of chocolate abuelita and stir for 5 more minutes.