The Kidlet saw some cartoon characters eating tamales on TV the other day and asked if we could make tamales sometime. I said "sure" but didn't really have high hopes for her actually liking them. Turns out I was wrong. She loved them! She ate FOUR tamales for dinner tonight. Four! That makes this by far the most successful dinner we've had in recent memory. She's already asking if we can make them again sometime. I think I may end up putting my other cooking plans on hold for a bit and just spend tomorrow making several batches of tamales to go in the freezer. (Stay tuned for more recipes!)

For this batch I decided to wing it on a bean and cheese filling. The Kidlet has been pro-beans and tomatoes lately, so I figured that would be a good jumping off point. Plus I already had those things on hand. I tried to keep the flavours fairly mild since she's still not really down with "spicy" or "strong flavours". Feel free to add more chilies and seasonings if you're cooking for more adventurous palates.

One unwrapped tamale and one still in its banana leaf wrapping.

Cheese and Bean Tamales

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 Tbsp. corn oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/16 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 c. cooked black beans
• ~600mL diced tomatoes
• 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
• 1/2 c. mushroom or vegetable stock
• 1 c. corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 1 c. mozzarella grated cheese
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Dough

• 2 c. masa harina
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 c. corn oil
• 2 1/2 c. vegetable broth

Assembly and Serving

• corn husks or banana leaves
• Cheddar cheese (optional)
• salsa
• sour cream

Directions

Filling

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened.
3. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add coriander, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, and sugar and cook for another minute.
5. Add black beans, tomatoes, chipotle, stock, and corn and cook until slightly thickened.
6. Stir in cheese and mix well.
7. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Set aside.

Dough

1. Combine masa harina, sumin, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Use a hand or stand mixer to beat in oil.
3. Gradually beat in broth.
4. Increase speed to high and beat for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly

1. If using corn husks, you'll need to soak them for at least half an hour first. My banana leaves just needed to be thawed out and trimmed to appropriate sizes and they were good to go.
2. Spread a thin, even layer of dough over ~1/2 the leaf/husk.
3. Place a couple Tbsp. of filling in a line down the middle of the dough¹. Add a little Cheddar cheese on top if you like.
4. Fold both sides of the leaf/husk in toward the centre, then fold the bottom up.
5. Tie with a string or narrow strip of husk/leaf.
6. Place open end up in steamer.
7. Repeat with remaining dough. (You will have a bunch of filling left over.)
8. If steaming on the stove-top: Cover and steam for 30-50 minutes. If steaming in an InstantPot/multicooker: set to high pressure for 20 minutes².
9. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

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Variations

Alternate Masa Recipe

Slightly adapted from Tastes Better From Scratch

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. vegetable shortening or coconut oil
• 375-450mL vegetable broth
• 2 c. masa harina
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground

Directions

1. Beat shortening with 2 Tbsp. broth until light and fluffy.
2. Combine masa harina, baking powder, and cumin and stir into shortening.
3. Gradually add broth and beat on high for several minutes.
4. Add more broth as needed to get desired consistency³.

This dough seemed to cook up about the same as the previous batch. It was much easier to work with though. It seemed to spread more smoothly and it was easier to get a relatively thin, even layer put down. That said, I'm not sure how much of that is down to the recipe and how much is down to the fact that I was using a different brand of masa harina.

Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Black Bean Filling

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. corn oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. chili powder
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 c. cooked black beans
• ~600mL diced tomatoes
• 2-3 chipotles in adobo, minced
• 1/2 c. mushroom or vegetable stock
• 1 c. corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 1 large sweet potato, cubed
• 250g baby spinach
• 1 c. mozzarella grated cheese
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Cook the sweet potato. (Boiling or microwave works well.)
2. Make the filling as above, but add sweet potato along with corn.
3. Toss spinach in on top, cover, and cook until wilted. Stir to combine.
4. Continue with recipe as above.

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¹ How much filling you need will depend on how big you make your tamales. I think I used ~2 Tbsp. of filling per tamal on average. ^Back
2 The instructions said 20 minutes "high pressure, natural release", but I forgot and did a quick release and they seemed fine. ^Back
3 The recipe author notes that the masa should have the consistency of peanut butter and be slightly sticky. The instructions also say that a small ball of dough dropped into a glass of water should float. If it sinks it needs more beating and/or broth. Mine didn't quite float, but it also didn't sink all the way to the bottom. It was sort of neutral. It probably could've done with more beating, but I was tired and in a hurry so I called it there. ^Back