I really hate to waste in the kitchen. It may come from growing up with two parents who lived through the depression; it may come from admonitions about people starving in Africa; it may be some innate frugalness in my DNA from various fonts of my heritage. For whatever reason, I tend to make do with leftovers, but I prefer them transformed if possible, made new and sometimes better.
Despite my frugality, I don’t like to serve these leftover creations to guests so much. I made an exception last night, as James has been staying with us for a week, he’s practically family. And technically, though this is a recipe I devised for leftover transformation, there were no leftovers involved in its creation.
Tamale Pie
(I can hear the horrified, sharp intakes of breath. “Victoria makes that horrible Home Ec concotion of Jiffy cornbread mix and ground beef?” Um, no. This ain’t your Home Ec teacher’s tamale pie.)
For the tamale dough:
2 1/2 cups masa harina (found in the Mexican foods section or at a Latin grocery)
2 cups boiling water
1/2 light tasting oil (I use canola)
For filling:
Your choice of the following:
refried black beans (or pinto)
pulled grilled chicken or pork
sliced tomatoes
sauteed and drained spinach
shredded cheese (Chihuahua, Monterey jack, etc.)
any kind of salsa (or picante, I’ve even made it with mole)
roasted veg (yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, onions)
anything else that seems good…
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
For the dough, pour the oil over the masa harina in a heat proof bowl. Pour in 1 cup of water and stir. Continue adding water until all the masa is wet. Cover the bowl and let this sit while you prepare any other ingredients, if necessary.
Line the bottom of a deep-dish pie plate (I use a clay baking dish from the Pampered Chef catalog) with about 2/3 of the dough. Try not to get it too thick in the corners. I find a rubber spatula works well for this.
Layer your ingredients into the dough-lined dish. I start with the beans or meat, then vegetables, sauce(s) and top with cheese.
This is the messy part: Top your filling with the remaining dough. There is no easy way to do this really. I make small disks, about a 1/2 thick and lay them out on top then mush them together, trying to not have too many cracks where the filling could bubble through.
Bake for about 40 minutes covered with aluminum foil to keep the dough from drying out. Let it stand for about five to ten minutes (less in a pie plate, longer in a clay baking dish), slice and serve with a drizzle of sour cream, more salsa or a sprinkling of fresh cilantro (coriander leaves).
It isn’t the prettiest thing in the world and it’s best eaten hot, but it is filling and it’s great comfort food.
