Forget going out to eat or ordering takeout every time you crave Mexican food.
Instructions
1
Prepare the Masa
2
If you have purchased prepared masa, you can skip this step. If you have masa harina (masa flour), add warm water to the masa harina, amount according to the instructions on the package. Stir to incorporate.
Ingredients you will need
Masa Harina
Water
3
Let sit for several minutes. Need the dough with your hands just enough so that all of the masa flour is incorporated. Knead in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Ingredients you will need
Masa Harina
Olive Oil
Dough
4
Prepare the Sauce
Ingredients you will need
Sauce
5
See the instructions in this red chili sauce recipe for preparing the chili sauce with the ancho chilies. Before you start to handle chilies, either wear protective gloves or rub a little olive oil over your hands. Once you are finished handling chiles, wash your hands well with warm soapy water. Be careful not to touch your eyes if you've been handling chiles!
Ingredients you will need
Chili Sauce
Olive Oil
Chili Pepper
Water
Dry Seasoning Rub
6
1 Open the chiles, remove seeds and stems: Use a sharp knife and make a cut down the side of each chile. Pry open the chiles and remove the seed pods and stems. Pull off any visible veins that run down the insides of the chiles. Reserve a few of the seeds if you need to add them later for more heat.
Ingredients you will need
Rundown
Chili Pepper
Seeds
Equipment you will use
Knife
1
Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Flatten out the chiles and place them open-side down on the skillet. Press down on them with a metal spatula. After a few seconds turn the chiles over and cook them a few more seconds.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Pepper
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
Spatula
2
Heat them only enough to soften them and to release their flavor, do not heat them to the extent that they would brown or toast.
Ingredients you will need
Toast
1
Place the chiles in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and remove the pot from the heat.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Pepper
Water
Equipment you will use
Sauce Pan
Pot
2
Let the chiles rest in the hot water for 10 minutes until they have softened. Alternatively, place the chiles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, let them sit for 15 minutes, until softened.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Pepper
Water
Equipment you will use
Bowl
1
Place the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the chile soaking water into a blender.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Pepper
Water
Equipment you will use
Blender
2
Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and ground cloves. Purée until completely smooth, a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Ingredients you will need
Ground Clove
Seasoning
Garlic
Pepper
Salt
3
Add more salt and/or chili seeds if needed.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Pepper
Seeds
Salt
4
5 Strain into a skillet, then simmer:
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
5
Place a sieve over a skillet and pour the sauce into the sieve, pressing it through to the skillet.
Ingredients you will need
Sauce
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
Sieve
6
Heat the skillet and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Ingredients you will need
Sauce
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
7
Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Ingredients you will need
Olive Oil
8
Remove from heat.
9
Prepare the Banana Leaves
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
10
If you are using frozen banana leaves (available at many Asian and Mexican markets), rinse them under warm water to defrost.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Water
11
Cut away the thick edges of the leaves.
12
If you are using fresh banana leaves, also cut away the thick edges (and central stem if you are using freshly cut leaves). Note that you can cut off sinewy strips from the stem edge of the banana leaves to use as ties for the tamales. Rinse the leaves.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Tamales
13
Banana leaves may be brittle and tear when you try to fold them. One way I've heard of to soften them is to soak them in warm, salted water for about an hour. Another way to soften them which I have found effective, is to hold them over heat, either over a gas burner or a hot pan for a few seconds.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Water
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
14
Heat them only enough so that they turn color (brighter green) and soften. If you heat them too long, they will toast and become brittle again.
Ingredients you will need
Toast
15
Cut the banana leaves into rectangles about 8"x10". Dry off with a towel.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
16
Prepare the Filling
17
1 Sauté the vegetables: Coat the bottom of a very large sauté pan with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil.
Ingredients you will need
Vegetable
Olive Oil
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
18
Heat to high heat.
19
Add the onions, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
Ingredients you will need
Carrot
Garlic
Onion
20
Then add the tomatoes and squash. Sauté for a couple more minutes.
Ingredients you will need
Tomato
Squash
21
Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Ingredients you will need
Salt
22
Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted.
Ingredients you will need
Spinach
23
Remove from heat.
24
Add chile sauce: Stir in 1/2 cup of chile sauce to the vegetables. Taste.
Ingredients you will need
Vegetable
Chili Pepper
Sauce
25
Add more salt if needed.
Ingredients you will need
Salt
26
Assemble the Tamales
Ingredients you will need
Tamales
27
Banana leaves have two sides. One side, the top of the leaf, is deep green and has somewhat thick ridges. The other side, the bottom of the leaf, is lighter green and is smoother. According to Diana Kennedy (and they guy I talked to at the local Mexican market) you will want to place the masa on the lighter green, smoother side of the leaf. (I've done it both ways and haven't found it making that big of a difference to the taste.)
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
1
Lay out the rectangle piece of banana leaf, light side up.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
2
Place a 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of masa on the center of the banana leaf. Press down on it with the palm of your hand to spread it out a bit.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Spread
3
Add chili sauce, cheese, vegetable filling:
Ingredients you will need
Chili Sauce
Vegetable
Cheese
4
Place a small bit (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon) of the red chili sauce on the masa.
Ingredients you will need
Chili Sauce
5
Place a strip of Monterey Jack cheese on top. Scoop some of the vegetable mixture (1/4 to 1/3 cup) on top of the cheese and masa.
Ingredients you will need
Monterey Jack Cheese
Vegetable
Cheese
6
3 Fold banana leaf to form tamale: Bring together the two long sides of the banana leaf and fold over, tucking one edge over the other if you can (if not, don't sweat it). Fold the two remaining sides under the tamale.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Tamales
7
4 Secure: Secure with a piece of kitchen string, or with some of the long stringy pieces that you can cut from the stem edge of the banana leaves.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Equipment you will use
Kitchen Twine
8
You can also make ties by pulling off some long thin strips from the larger part of the banana leaf and tying them together to form a long enough strip with which to tie up a tamale. Or, you can skip the tying step all together and just fold them well.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Tamales
9
If upon your first attempt to wrap a tamale the banana leaf is too brittle and tears, you may need to soften the banana leaves by heating them first as mentioned earlier.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Tamales
Wrap
10
Steam the Tamales
Ingredients you will need
Tamales
11
1 Assemble steamer in pot with water, line with banana leaves:
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Water
Equipment you will use
Pot
12
Place a steamer rack in the bottom of a very large stockpot.
Equipment you will use
Pot
13
Add enough water to almost come up to the level of the steam rack, about 3/4 or 1 inch. Line the top of the steam rack with banana leaves.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Water
14
Layer with tamales and banana leaves: Carefully place the tamales in layers on the bottom of the pan. When you have added all of the tamales, add another layer of banana leaves. Cover the pot.
Ingredients you will need
Banana Leaves
Tamales
Equipment you will use
Frying Pan
Pot
15
3 Steam for one hour: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Steam cook for approximately one hour.
Recommended wine: Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sparkling Rose
Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Sparkling rosé are great choices for Tamales. Acidic white wines like riesling or low-tannin reds like pinot noir can work well with Mexican dishes. Sparkling rosé is a safe pairing too. One wine you could try is Sandhi Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir. It has 4.7 out of 5 stars and a bottle costs about 65 dollars.