In the pre-Columbian era, the Aztecs ate tamales with these ingredients: turkey,
flamingo, frog..., pocket gopher, rabbit, turkey eggs, bees, honey, fruits, maize
flour, squash and beans, as well as with no filling. Aztec tamales differed from
modern tamales by not having added fat.~ From Wikipedia
Not your Aztec's Tamales!
Tamales
Makes 12
These freeze really well
Tamale Wrappers: Corn Husks
13-15 dried corn husks
In a large bowl, submerge the dried corn husks in enough water to cover. Add a weight to keep the corn husks covered in the water. I used a glass measuring cup.
Tamale Dough
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups masa harina
2 cups stone ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup cashew cream
In a 2 quart sauce pan, bring the water and salt to a boil.
In a separate bowl, combine the masa harina, cornmeal and baking powder.
When the water has come to a boil, turn off the heat, remove from the burner and place on a heat resistant surface. Briskly stir the dry ingredients into the hot water. The dough will thicken, resembling play dough!
Mix in the cashew cream until combined. Let cool while the filling is being made. When cool, roll the dough into 12 Ping-Pong sized balls (this helps make sure each tamales has the same amount of dough). Set aside.
Bean, Corn and Pepper Filling
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
a pinch of dried chili flakes
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 15-oz. fat-free refried beans
1 4-oz can green chilies, diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels (or fresh, when in season)
2 green onions, chopped
Salt to taste
Sweat the diced onion in a few tablespoons of water in a sauté pan over medium high heat. As needed, add more water to prevent sticking and scorching.
When the onions are transparent, add the minced garlic, then the diced red pepper. When the red pepper has softened, add the cumin, chili powder and chili flakes, and remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the black beans, refried beans, diced green chilies, frozen corn and chopped green onion. Add the onion/garlic/pepper mixture and mix. Taste and correct the seasoning. (This filling is good on its own!)
Heat adjustment
Should you crave heat, add some chopped jalapeño or other source of heat
to taste, to the bean filling. I prefer to have people add their choice of heat at the table, via Cholula, Sriracha, Widow Maker, whatever. To my tender tongue, too much heat masks flavor. But that’s just me…certainly not my kids!
Wrapping up
Place a large towel on the counter, then spread 12 of the soaked corn husks on the towel.
Pat the corn husks with a dry towel to remove any excess water.
Place one masa ball in the center of each corn husk.
Spread on the dough…
Here’s a method that makes spreading out the masa dough on the corn husk much easier,
Sandwich the masa dough with a 2nd corn husk...
Place a 2nd corn husk over the masa ball, then, with a rolling pin, spread out the dough to the edges of the husk, leaving about 1 ½ inch of space at the top and bottom.
Remove the 2nd corn husk.
Spoon on the filling…
Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the filling down the center of the rolled masa dough.
Roll and tie
Bring the sides together, rolling the dough into the husk. Twist each end of the rolled corn husk.
Tear a fiber strip of corn husk, and use to tie each twisted end of the tamale.
At this point, you can refrigerate the tamales until an hour before serving, or wrap each tamale in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 weeks. (Allow extra time to steam frozen tamales.)
Steam…
Place a steam rack in a large pan. Add a few inches of water, not quite touching the steam rack. Bring the water to a boil. Place the 12 tamales on the rack over the steaming hot water.
Cover and steam for 30+ minutes, adding more water as needed to maintain the steam.
The tamales are done when they are hot and soft to the touch.
...and Serve
Serve with your favorite salsa and a southwestern salad of cabbage, grated carrots and green peppers tossed with your favorite vinaigrette.
Not your Aztec's Tamales!
I've come up with a tasty tamale recipe that uses no frogs, flamingos or gophers and no lard! Cashew Cream provides a creaminess to the tamale dough.
Gee Whiz
This tamale recipe uses corn 3 ways: the husk, ground dried corn, and frozen (or fresh) corn kernels. Together, they bring a depth of flavor, texture, and even provide packaging!
Gee Whiz
This tamale recipe uses corn 3 ways: the husk, ground dried corn, and frozen (or fresh) corn kernels. Together, they bring a depth of flavor, texture, and even provide packaging!
Recipe Notes: To be pliable, the corn husks must soak in water for a few minutes. Start them soaking first, then prepare the dough and filling. Soak 2-3 extra husks to tear into strips to tie the ends of each tamale.
I particularly like the taste and texture of stone-ground cornmeal, the same grind used for polenta. This grind retains some of the hull, the germ, more texture and more of the corn flavor. For this reason,
I used 2 cups of medium stone-ground cornmeal and 2 cups of masa harina - masa harina is made from corn soaked in lime, dried, and then ground.
I used 2 cups of medium stone-ground cornmeal and 2 cups of masa harina - masa harina is made from corn soaked in lime, dried, and then ground.
In place of lard, this recipe uses 1/2 cup of cashew cream. My standard recipe for Cashew Cream is on my October 12, 2013 blog, click this link:
Taste Each Time: Taste and season the tamale dough, then taste, season and adjust the heat in the tamale filling. Each element should taste great before assembling. This makes sure that the final tamales taste awesome.
Plant-based and Terrific
Taste Each Time: Taste and season the tamale dough, then taste, season and adjust the heat in the tamale filling. Each element should taste great before assembling. This makes sure that the final tamales taste awesome.
Plant-based and Terrific
 |
Corn husks, soaking in tap water and
weighed down with a measuring cup.
|
Makes 12
These freeze really well
Tamale Wrappers: Corn Husks
13-15 dried corn husks
In a large bowl, submerge the dried corn husks in enough water to cover. Add a weight to keep the corn husks covered in the water. I used a glass measuring cup.
 |
Cashew Cream replaces lard. Piggy, taking a
personal interest, is happy to help with this step!
|
4 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups masa harina
2 cups stone ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup cashew cream
In a 2 quart sauce pan, bring the water and salt to a boil.
In a separate bowl, combine the masa harina, cornmeal and baking powder.
When the water has come to a boil, turn off the heat, remove from the burner and place on a heat resistant surface. Briskly stir the dry ingredients into the hot water. The dough will thicken, resembling play dough!
 |
Roll the dough into 12 ping-pong size balls.
Piggy's around somewhere... |
Bean, Corn and Pepper Filling
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
a pinch of dried chili flakes
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 15-oz. fat-free refried beans
1 4-oz can green chilies, diced
1 cup frozen corn kernels (or fresh, when in season)
2 green onions, chopped
Salt to taste
Sweat the diced onion in a few tablespoons of water in a sauté pan over medium high heat. As needed, add more water to prevent sticking and scorching.
When the onions are transparent, add the minced garlic, then the diced red pepper. When the red pepper has softened, add the cumin, chili powder and chili flakes, and remove from heat.
 |
In a small amount of water, sweat onions till transparent. Then add garlic,
red pepper and seasonings. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the beans, corn diced green chilies, sweated veggies and the green onions. |
Heat adjustment
Should you crave heat, add some chopped jalapeño or other source of heat
Place a large towel on the counter, then spread 12 of the soaked corn husks on the towel.
Pat the corn husks with a dry towel to remove any excess water.
Place one masa ball in the center of each corn husk.
Spread on the dough…
Here’s a method that makes spreading out the masa dough on the corn husk much easier,
Sandwich the masa dough with a 2nd corn husk...
Place a 2nd corn husk over the masa ball, then, with a rolling pin, spread out the dough to the edges of the husk, leaving about 1 ½ inch of space at the top and bottom.
Remove the 2nd corn husk.
Spoon on the filling…
Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the filling down the center of the rolled masa dough.
Roll and tie
Bring the sides together, rolling the dough into the husk. Twist each end of the rolled corn husk.
Tear a fiber strip of corn husk, and use to tie each twisted end of the tamale.
At this point, you can refrigerate the tamales until an hour before serving, or wrap each tamale in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 weeks. (Allow extra time to steam frozen tamales.)
 |
| Tamales ready to steam |
Place a steam rack in a large pan. Add a few inches of water, not quite touching the steam rack. Bring the water to a boil. Place the 12 tamales on the rack over the steaming hot water.
Cover and steam for 30+ minutes, adding more water as needed to maintain the steam.
The tamales are done when they are hot and soft to the touch.
...and Serve
Serve with your favorite salsa and a southwestern salad of cabbage, grated carrots and green peppers tossed with your favorite vinaigrette.
 |
| Sabroso! |
No comments:
Post a Comment