#63 Cuba: tamales

From now on I am only making Cuban-style tamales (HAHAHA I SAY THAT NOW). They are SO much easier than Mexican tamales! I based this recipe from one on tablespoon.com after reading a whole bunch of recipes from other sites. They are all very similar. 

You just mix the "filling" in with the masa, and... roll them. SO MUCH EASIER. And tasty!

I have to say... I've made tamales at least 6 times... this was by far the easiest!!!!

Cuban Tamales 

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced small

1 red pepper, diced small

3 cloves of garlic

8 ounce can of tomato paste

2 cups of fresh corn (boiled or frozen)

1/2 cup butter (I used Earth Balance vegan butter)

1 cup corn meal (plus maybe more)

1/2 cup masa harina (plus maybe more)

...or, use only masa harina (1.5 cups)

1 cup vegetable broth 

24ish corn husks

Directions:

1. Soak the corn husks in water (in a bowl with another bowl on top of them).

2. Start boiling a few inches of water in a large pot with some sort of buffer on the bottom- I use my canning pot with the metal canning rack upside down.

3. Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic. I used broth but you can use oil. 

4. While sautéing, place fresh corn in a food processor and process a few minutes.

5. Then, add the onion, peppers, and garlic to the food processor. Add the butter, corn flour(s), and broth. Pulse a few times until all combined. Depending on your fresh corn, this mixture could be very wet or very dry. Use broth or more corn flour to get it to the consistency of guacamole. Sorry. That's the only thing I can think of to compare it to!

6. Drain corn husks and place 1-2 spoonfuls of mixture in each one, on the smooth side, rolling them on their side and folding them up on the bottom. Place vertically in an extra bowl until all are rolled. 

7. Carefully load up your steamer. Add a little more water- always add water! Burnt tamale pans smell awful and are very hard to clean.

8. Steam until they pull away clean from the corn husk. Probably about 60 minutes. If your batter is very soupy, it will just take longer, but, it will get there, don't worry.

9. Enjoy fresh or freeze.