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T A M A L E S
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(This recipe is for Meatless Tamales, however, if you like meat,
you can add it to the list of ingredients, and add the meat
on step 2 below.)
Ingredients:
Corn niblets (about 1 lb., you can also use frozen corn)
Onion (1 medium head)
Tomato sauce (about 3 tablespoons)
Salt (about 1 tablespoon)
Corn meal (about 1/3 cup)
Flour (about 1/2 cup. you can use Whole wheat, or regular)
Olives (about 1/2 cup)
Green peppers (about 1/2 of a regular size pepper)
Raisins (optional, to taste)
Preparation:
1.-
Put corn niblets in a blender with 1/2 cup of water, and blend for
about 2 minutes. Mince onion (cut in small pieces). Cut olives and
pepper in small pieces also.
2.-
In a frying pan add about 4 tablespoons of oil (olive oil tastes best),
put in the onions, peppers, olives, raisins (optional), and cook on
low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, and cook on low
heat for a few minutes more.
3.-
Mix the blended corn with the olive-onion-pepper-tomato-sauce mixture,
and the corn meal, and the flour. Cook on medium heat until mixture is
thick. Stir regularly, and add salt to taste.
4.-
Take portions of the resulting cooked mixture, and place on top of
corn leaves**, and wrap the corn leaves all around the mixture, and
tie these with a string, making sure that the mixture is well
covered, so that the water won't be able to get in for the step
that follows. Put the individually wrapped sections in a container
filled with enough water to cover them, and boil for about 1 hour.
** If you can't get corn leaves, you can use aluminum foil, but
it will taste better if you use corn leaves.
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| When I learned to make Tamales, in Sonora Mexico, I was taught to make
them by the kilo - lots of kilos! I now make them in much, much
smaller batches in a lot less time! Tamales are a sort of exotic
dumpling, with a moist centre. They are wrapped in corn husks while
steamed until they are cooked.. The fillings used in Mexico, are
endless - from shredded meats to sweet fillings of brown sugar and
dried fruit.. For this recipe I've used a light vegetable filling and
I'm serving them in a favourite spicy red pepper sauce.
Tamales
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Red Pepper Sauce:
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 TBS oil
2 large red peppers, roasted, peeled and de-seeded - chunked
1 TBS vinegar
1/2 tsp chili powder (use more or less depending on fierceness)
1/4 pint of water
1 TBS tomato paste
a little salt to taste
1 TSP paprika
Saute onion and garlic in oil until tender - add red pepper chunks and
all other ingredients except paprika - simmer for 20 mins - add paprika
and puree. (thin with a little water if necessary)
Filling:
1/2 green pepper, roasted, peeled and de-seeded cut into fine strips
12 green olive (pits removed)
12 plump raisins
4 oz of cheese (St. Paulin Cheese) cut into 12 strips
Some of the sauce from above
Roast pepper and arrange all fillings neatly on a plate - set aside.
Tamale:
8 oz Masa Harina (will weigh approx. 15 oz. when mixed up with water to
a soft dough)
7 1/2 oz of pure butter
1 egg
1 oz of corn kernels
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
12 corn husks - 12 grease proof paper sandwich bags
Combine dry Masa Harina with water to form a soft dough - Beat butter
in food processor until whipped - add Masa and egg yolk - continue to
beat until quite light - test for lightness by dropping a small amount
in a glass of cold water.. if it floats proceed.. if it does not
continue to beat until it does. Add corn kernels, baking powder and
salt - combine until corn is broken down into mixture.
Spread each corn husk with 1/12 of tamale mixture - place 1 of each of
the filling ingredients slightly off centre - add a TBS of red pepper
puree - fold husk over and seal - place in the grease proof paper
sandwich bag and fold to a parcel.
Place the 12 tamales in a steamer and steam for one hour - place extra
husks around tamales to keep them from moving around or alternatively
balls of foil.
Cream to Garnish
To plate - strain remaining sauce and thin to desired consistency -
heat gently. Flood bottom of each serving dish with sauce - swirl with
cream. Place two tamales on sauce and pour a little sauce over them -
garnish with a sprig of coriander or flat leaf Italian Parsley.
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| from: Southwest Indian Cookbook by Marcia Keegan
TAMALES
25 large dried corn husks
Meat Filling:
1.5 lbs cooked shoulder pork chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1.5 Teaspoons ground red chili
.75 teaspoons cumin powder
.25 cup chili sauce, hot as desired
pinch of oregano
.5 teaspon tabasco sauce
1 small hot red chili pepper crushed
1 teaspoon salt
Masa or dough
2 cups masa harina*
.5 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups broth from pork
* This is a special flourlike mixture used to make tamales and
tortillas, It can be found in a specialty shop or in spanish
groceries.
Method:
Cover the dried husks with hot water and soak for 2 hours or until
very tender
Boil pork in 2 cups of water until it can be shredded with a fork.
Brown garlic and pork in shortening. Make a paste of the broth,
chili, cumin powder, and oregano and stir intothje meat. Add the
remaining filling ingredients, and simmer gentlyu stirring
occasionally for about 45 minutes.
For the dough: mix the masa harina salt and stock together well
To roll the tamales, spread a husk out flat and place one
tablespoon of the masa mixture in the center and top with a
tablespoon of the meat filling. Flatten the fillings leaving an
inch at the sides and bottom of the husk. fold the bottom and
sides of the husk enclosing the filling and tie securely with
string leaving the top open.
Stand the tamales, sealed end down in a large steamer and surround
them with aluminum foil so they stand by themselves. Fill the
bottom of the steamer with water, place a teatowel over the top.
cover with lid and steam the tamales for about 2.5 hours.
yield about 12 servings
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| On a slightly lighter note, but not really, I thought I would
revive this string. I haven't heard from Deb in over two years
but, I thought I would share the recipe she sent me, and then
helped me with, for tamales. (What I will be making in my spare
time over the weekend) I am leaving it with all the typo's
as I think it truly adds to the recipe.
Thanks Deb, wherever you are, and best hoiday wishes for you
and Tara:
meg
Store Bought Red Chili / dry'd
Get your mixer out, put in your red chilis, amount per taste,
add water half way & eventually to top, mix up good, add
flour & spices. Heat frying pan, add small amount of lard,
then red chili, heat to boil, simmer till ready to eat.
You can also boil them in water if you want. I personally
don't waste the time. I'v seen no advantage.
Red Chili with Pork
Cut up your pork into little chunks. Heat frying pan, add a
little lard, add pork, cook till toasty, add red chili, same
as above.
Fresh Red Chili to Freeze
Go to the farmers market or pueblo and get a bushel.
Remove stems from all the chili's. Wash before that if necessary.
Don't take them seeds out, there good & hot !!!!!
Get a large pan & fill about 1/2 to 2/3 full with water, bring
it to a boil, add a bunch of red chilis and boil till they are
soft (15-20 minutes). Get your mixer out, put in your chilis &
water & mix. Do not add spices to chilis when freezing. When
your going to use it just defrost, put it in your mixer & add
your flour & spices & follow above direction.
Deb's 2 Day Tamales
Day 1
Prepare your red chili. Prepare your meat, un-seasoned. Combine
chili & meat & any more seasonings necessary. Chill overnight.
I like to do a turkey and have a turkey dinner & shred the left
over turkey into the chili. What ever meat you use, pork, turkey,
beef, just make sure & shred it, chunks don't work to well when
you'r trying to roll your tamales.
If you use pork or beef you will probably want to boil & simmer it
in a large pan for a few hours for more tender meat. Turkey usually
just falls apart anyways.
Save ALL juice for the masa, I'v even taken my turkey & boiled it
some juice to get the flavor in a larger quantity of water/juice.
To make this tamale time worth while you will want to do a large
batch. I usually use 4-5 large bags of my froozen chili & the
leftover's from 12-15 lb. turkey. If your using pork or beef with
red chili you can figure the same 12-15 lbs meat.
Green chili's another story. I'v never made green chili tamales
except to help my sister in law once who does everything sloppy.
She had hugh chunks of beef & hugh chunks of onions, damm they
were so hard to roll, yet alone mention her style of making masa
left alot to be desired. Oh well..enough sister-in-law bashing !!
Day 2
Fill your sink with warmish water & probably 2 bags total of corn
husks. Just do 1 at a time. They need to soak for about 1 hr.
At that time I go ahead and take them apart and rinse off all hairs.
Drain & refill sink with clean water. Return husks to water until
ready to use. Then take a few hands full out at a time and place
on a towel in your work area.
Masa
This is tuff. You want a soft, moist texture. Don't be afraid to
add water if it's not as soft as needed to work with as it sits
out. Take about 1/2 of the 5 lb masa bag in lg bowl, add a couple
hands full of lard, probably equivelant to a couple cups, add a
handfull of salt, probably about 1/4 cup, add 2 handsfull of
baking powder, maybe about 1/2 cup. With love & care & your hands,
mix this all together. It will feel soft and you will be able to
tell that the lard & flour are even distributed. Have your juice
warmed up on the stove and add about a third of it, maybe a little
more, use your hands & mix it all together nice & gently. If after
getting it all mixed you feel you need more juice add water instead
of juice, just to prevent running out of it for your next batch.
Now on your work area you should have:
1. Corn husks on towel
2. Red chili w/meat in it & spoon
3. Pan with masa
4. Lg glass with water in it
5. Table knife
6. Lg cake pan like to put tamales in
Lay out your husk ruff side down, spread masa thinly on smooth
side.
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Then in the center put a small amoutn of chili, probably 3-4 Table
spoons. Take the sides and overlap them. The tip end with no masa
or chili gets folded up.
When you have a pan or two full get your canner ready. I leave the
wire rack in mine as it sits on the bottom anyways and then I layer
about an inch with corn husks. Use the little ones that you probably
won't use for tamales until you learn to patch together, small husks.
Add probably about 1 inch of water or soand stand your tamales in the
canner. I stand them to the outside & fill inward as if you try to
build a tee pee it's harder to fill in once you are on the outer
edge.
I let them go for about 1 hr at 10 lbs pressure.
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