Tamal de chocolate (74% cacao). Gerardo Vázquez Lugo en Nicos

Nicos began with Elena Lugo and a soda fountain that gradually transformed into a casual restaurant for local employees, where its cuisine, Mexican, traditional, home-style, and welcoming, began to take shape. Eventually, it passed into the hands of her son, Gerardo, who continued to drive the restaurant's evolution.

Nicos is today one of the most prominent names in traditional, sophisticated, and refined Mexican cuisine. It's a cuisine characterized by attention to detail and a commitment to the present, while remaining true to its origins and the place where it was born.

The totomoxtle is the leaf that covers the ear of corn.

Ingredients for red fruit compote

• 1 kg of strawberries.
• 300g of raspberries
• 300g of blackberries
• 50% sugar of the total weight of the fruit.

Ingredients for tamales

• 300 grams of softened butter.
• 60 grams of sugar.
• a pinch of salt.
• 1 kg of blue corn dough.
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder.
• 530g of grated chocolate.
• 1 tablespoon of red fruit compote.
• 25 hydrated corn husks.

Preparation of the red fruit compote

• Wash and disinfect the fresh fruit. Remove the crown and cut it into medium-sized pieces.
• Wash, disinfect and chop the raspberries and blackberries.
• Place the blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in a saucepan with 100 ml of water, bring to a boil, keep boiling for one minute, and remove from the heat. Transfer them to another container to cool.

Making tamales

• Beat the butter until fluffy.
• Gradually add the sugar, salt, and baking powder. Mix until well combined before adding the grated chocolate.
• Fill the corn husks with two tablespoons of dough (75 g), spread it out and add a tablespoon of compote in the center, as a filling.
• Cook for 50 minutes in a preheated steamer, with a base of leaves, a damp cloth and a plastic bag.
• Leave to rest in the steamer for 20 minutes.