This huge pile of greens disappears magically into the masa and keeps the tamal from drying out.
This evolving recipe of mine seeks to honor the generations of hands (since pre-columbian times) that have turned the gift of corn into masa, and that into the mouth watering genius that is the tamal. At the same time, I am trying to shift this dish in my own more recent culture, from what was the ritual feast, prepared in abundance and enjoyed exclusively on holidays towards a bit less exhausting, more frequent, nourishing delight, packed with greens and less grease…so that I can eat them and feed them to my little ones for breakfast AND lunch without guilt! In short, here’s a small batch recipe you can make by yourself or with your kids in a couple of hours that blends the leafy greens into the masa, and wraps them in more leafy greens to boot. Still an indulgence, but with more healthy veggies packed in so you don’t feel gross afterwards. It’s still a project but it’s not impossible to do on your own!
And I can’t speak of tamales without thinking of my dad. I will save his fresh corn tamal recipe in all it’s sweet and salty indulgence for the beautiful rituals that are fewer and farther in between.
INGREDIENTS
For the masa—-
The ratio of masa to greens is 2 to 1. I love my carbs, but it feels good to know there’s more than just that in there.
5 cups masa flour (I use the organic yellow corn masa flour from Gold MIne Natural Foods...I will warn you, it’s tough finding organic masa at an affordable price!)
2 1/2 tbs baking soda
2 1/2 cups finely chopped greens (spinach, chard, bok choy, amaranth leaves, purslane a.k.a. verdolagas all work great)
2 ½ cubes bouillon in 2 cups of water (I use vegetable bouillon)
2 tbs oregano
½ tbs thyme
2 tbs chile pasilla powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
The finished product—another thing I love about wrapping tamales in greens instead of corn leaves is that I can eat it all; and In our current broken food system where it’s so hard to find corn that isn’t doused in chemicals, I love being able to wrap my tamales in something organic grown right out of our back yard.
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbs paprika
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato or ½ cup tomato sauce or salsa
½ cup olive oil or non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
For the filling—
queso oaxaca or mozarella cheese, cut into strips about an inch wide and 2 inches long
2 or 3 chile poblano or anaheim (optional, I leave these out in a few for a less spicy option for kids)
For wrapping—
Large and flexible leafy greens. Chard is my favorite for this purpose. Collard leaves also work well. Other leaves I’ve used—beet greens, amaranth greens (on years that they are big and beautiful). I think even some kale or Napa cabbage could work!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Roast the poblano or anaheim peppers in a pan over medium-high heat until they blister and turn mostly black. Remove from heat and place in a bowl with a lid so they ‘sweat’. Many people do this step in a plastic bag. This freaks me out because I think the heat releases nasty chemicals from the plastic that I would rather not eat. My alternative has been a bowl with a lid or placing the hot chiles on a silicone baking mat and folding the mat over the chiles for a few minutes.
2. In the same pan, put a drizzle of olive oil and saute the onions and garlic and the whole tomato, if you are using a fresh tomato. Stir the onions occasionally and cook until translucent and slightly browned. Flip the tomato around occasionally to char it on all sides. Remove from heat and let cool.
3. Heat up 2 cups of water enough to dissolve the bouillon cubes and let cool a bit
4. While everything cools, mix the masa, baking powder and dry spices in a large mixing bowl.
5. In a blender, puree the onion, garlic and tomato with about half of the vegetable broth (enough liquid to allow blender to work well, not so much that you overflow!)
6. Mix finely chopped greens into the masa. Then add the mix from the blender and the rest of the liquid vegetable broth. Finally, work in the olive oil or vegetable shortening. Use your hands to work it all in. It may feel a bit dry, but the leafy greens you’ve worked in will release moisture as you cook.
7. Returning to the sweaty chiles, remove the thick translucent and charred peel that should be partially flaking off. I am not obsessive about this, but most people find it annoying to chew. I say, it’s more fiber! When you are satisfied with this step, slice open the chile and remove the stem and seeds (again, I am not obsessive about the seed removal, but I may be spicier than you like if you let too many seeds remain). Slice the remaining chile into strips.
8. It’s wrapping time! Get your steamer ready. If you don’t have a dedicated steamer, basically a metal rack that fits inside your pot to keep your tamales lifted an inch or two above the water, then you can rig one with some aluminum foil. My grandma showed me this trick:
Fill a large pot with four inches of water more or less. Then, take a big piece of aluminum foil and twist it to make a sort of flexible cylinder that you can coil around to sit in the bottom of your pot. You’ll need to make a few of these. Once you start wrapping, you place the tamales so they sit on the coils (or your steamer rack)
Now that your steamer pot is ready, take a serving spoon and scoop out some masa. Spread it on one of your large leafy greens. Put two or three strips each of cheese and chile, then fold the masa over the stuffing to seal it in. Finally, wrap the leaf around your tamal as the beautiful gift that it is! If you find your leaf excessively large, then grab some scissors and cut the excess and set it aside for another tamal. If you find your wrapping leaf too small, then grab another leaf and finish it off. It’s a challenge sometimes, finding the best way to wrap each tamal so that it holds once you set it down. You can stack tamal on top of tamal, so long as the lid will still sit tightly over everything once you finish.
When you’re done wrapping, place pot over medium-high heat and steam for 1 hour.
Enjoy!