I was poking around the book store on Sunday morning (went straight to the cookbook section, of course) and stumbled upon a new vegan cookbook: The Accidental Vegan. It was this tamale recipe that sold me. Wrapping something in corn husks sounds labor intensive but it's surprisingly easy and made me feel good about using all parts of the fresh corn... not to mention that this meal probably costs $5 (bargain!), is healthy, and let's not forget the most important... DELICIOUS.
I've already started thinking about the next tamale filling I'll play with... Accidental Vegan has tons of great filling ideas. These would also be amazing on the grill in the summer. I'm tamale-obsessed. Pour me a cerveza.
• The Accidental Vegan at Amazon.com
Ingredients:
2 ears of fresh corn (save the husks!)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups masa harina (*a Mexican corn meal that I couldn't find so I used yellow grits... worked great!)
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 serrano chili, minced
Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
Handful of fresh chopped cilantro
1. Bring the water, salt, and olive oil to a boil. Turn off the flame and slowly stir in the masa or grits until a thick dough forms.
2. When it's cool enough to handle, form the masa into 2-inch balls and set aside.
3. Shuck the corn and reserve the husks.
4. Using a small knife, cut the kernels from the cob.
5. In a saucepan saute the onions and garlic in oil. Add the diced tomato and spices and cook until the tomato is totally broken down.
6. Add the beans (rinced and drained) and cilantro and cook until the beans are heated through.
7. Put one masa ball in the center of a corn husk and spoon a little bean mixture on top. Use the husks to wrap the tamale filling up into a little package. No need to tie or anything - just tuck the husk under the bottom and place the tamale into your bamboo steamer.
8. Fill a wok with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Place the steamer over the boiling water and steam the tamales until the contents are hot. We ate them with avocado and roasted acorn squash on the side. YUM.
What are tamales?
Tamales have been a central American staple since before those pesky Europeans showed up and ruined all the fun. According to the old faithful, Wikipedia, "tamales were developed as a portable ration for use by war parties in the ancient Americas and were as ubiquitous and varied as the sandwich is today."
Thank you for sharing! This may be the first real tutorial we've seen on tamales and now we're inspired to try them too. Go visit the Two Blue Lemons for more vegan and vegetarian recipes from this team of two blogging sisters.
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(Images: Two Blue Lemons)
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mmmmm. my farmers market sells frozen vegan tamales, but i think making them would taste better and be way cheaper.
I actually make my (non-vegan) tamales with chicken broth, which is yummy and healthy because I don't use lard. From here you can then add whatever you want to the masa, e.g. chicken/green tomatillo sauce/queso, carnitas, chicken mole, etc.
Banana leaves are really good if you don't have corn husks.
I LOVE that you have posted a healthier version of tamales! Will have to try these at home!
By the way, I'm not sure where you're located, but you should be able to find Masa Harina in a Latino grocery, if there's one near you. Otherwise, I'd check the larger grocery stores with ethnic sections (probably even Whole Foods) for masa and banana leaves, too, like Kathryn recommended above.
Yum!
do you eat the husk and all? or unwrap it, like in the second pic and just eat the contents?
Ohhh, those look delicious. And I just happen to have a lonely little bag of masa harina sitting in the pantry right now! I suddenly know what I'm bringing to the Memorial Day cookout. Thank you!
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I don't know anything about Tamales, I don't think I've ever had one. But after looking at this how could I not.
Thanks!
correct me if I'm wrong, but the recipe doesn't say what to do with the kernels after cutting them off the cob...
Devra has a stand (Patty Pan Grill) at some of the Farmers Markets in Seattle. They sell tamales and quesadillas. I think they are "just" vegetarian.
This looks really great and a bit easier than many other tamale recipes I have come across!
Just eat the insides, not the husks.
Looks like you cook up the corn kernels along with everything else. Mmm.
These do look quite a bit easier than other tamales I've seen, so I'm finally going to try it out!
GREAT POST, THANKS.
If you don't have fresh corn (therefore neither the husks) you can visit a south american foodstore/market and buy frozen plantain leaves. You'll be able to make A LOT of tamales with one package and they keep really well in the freezer. In the pacific coast of Mexico (Oaxaca through Chiapas) they make the tamales in plantain husks and the flavor is far better thatn those made with con husks, with a few exceptions. Prepackaged corn husks are bulkier and keep ok in the fridge, plantain ones come in a flat package. Also try using an herbal infusion instead of plain water. Use epazote or hoja-santa for example (sorry, I have not yet found the english name of the later).
You can also use fruit and sugar and a tiny bit of food coloring to make them as dessert. Pineapple is great for this.
I made this dish over the summer, and it was totally awesome. My corn husks, though, were small, so next time I'll buy - and consider banana leaves.