Vegan MoFo, Day Two--Reason 2: My food is grown from the ground where I live. Pretty simple, but so true. Yes, many other foodies can do the same, but honestly, unless they have a calf or chicken in their garage ready for god-knows-what, I don't think that same claim can be made. (You can't really grow them from the ground either.) Speaking of food from the ground where I live, I have another lovely bowl of ripe tomatoes--I pulled eight of them off the plants yesterday--amazing, really. So, my dinner plans had to include tomatoes.
I needed to make something that was a bit extraordinary, a bit off the chart, a bit more tactile and with a lot of zing: enter the tamale. I don't know about you, but for me, these were a mystery. I've eaten them before, but never with a "wow, can't wait to have this one again" feeling--I am sure it was the bland flavor of the dough the tamale was wrapped in--and maybe the minuscule amount of real food inside. And yes, I am aware that the tamale is available in abundance through street vendors in many parts of the country, but not in my neck of the woods. I was taken with a recipe I had seen in Peter Berley's The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. He called for a pressure cooking step for this bean, and I was like, No. I want simple. I want something that I can cook in about an hour, with fewer than four pots to clean after. (Not gonna happen with these.) So, I got to cooking. In case you need inspiration, I have a few pictures for you. We really liked these. When I unwrapped my pretty parcel, I was so taken with its beautiful solid shape and feel though I was pretty spent after having to wrestle with the corn husk to keep it in place around the filling. Not quite as easy as it looks. And in one of my researches on the internet, this person claimed his father told him to soak these overnight, dry well. . . in my world, there is not "planning the night before" for any dinners. I am either in the mood for the dish at 5 o'clock, or I am not. Here is my modified tamale recipe. Make sure you have a bag of corn husks handy! Oh, and I made a side of green rice and guacamole with salsa.
Tamale Dough
3 cups masa harina
3 cups water
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Place the masa harina in a large non-reactive bowl. Boil the water, oil and salt. Add this to the flour slowly, blending well with a wooden spoon as you do so. The dough should feel fairly smooth, though you will have some lumps. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
Tamale Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large tomatoes, cut in half
1 red onion quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled
2 chili peppers, split in half and seeded
1 can Adzuki beans, rinsed and drained
3 green onions white and green parts chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 bunch of basil leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic on the baking sheet, cut side down. Brush with a bit of olive oil. Roast for about 30 minutes. (Your house will smell wonderful!) As the veggies are roasting, start prepping the the rest of the veggies. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil, then add the remaining chopped veggies. Let them cook about five minutes. Then add the drained beans and seasonings. Don't let this burn. Let it simmer. Now, remove veggies from oven and put them in the pan with the beans. Mix well and let simmer for about ten minutes or so--so the flavors have a chance to meld. Taste for heat and right amount of salt and whatever you'd like. Remove from heat. Time to stuff!
Prep your steamer--just have it ready. Have a big bowl of water ready and place about ten corn husks in there. Take the masa harina (dough) and spread a thin layer on the husk not coming to the edges. Then take a tablespoon of the veggie stuffing and place it in the middle of the dough. Here's how I did the rest (after some trial and error, trust me!)--take another wad of dough and make a flattened amount of it that looks like it will fit over your filling and dough piece sitting in the husk. Place this on top, pinch the edges, then slowly begin to roll up in the husk. I also had to use some extra dough sometimes to close little holes that I saw. Use a nice, smooth rolling motion. If you need to, add another husk to keep the filling in place. Take strips of the husk from unused ones and pull off pieces for tying the tamale up. Place tamale in steamer for about 25 minutes. When the time is up, carefully remove the husk from the pan and place on a plate. Untie, unwrap and viola! Tamale Time!
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