December 18, 2012

Corn Tamales with Red and Green Peppers (vegan and gluten-free)

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Tamales are among the traditional foods found on the Latin American holiday table. Made sweet, savory, or stuffed, no Christmas celebration in this culture would be complete without them. This version of tamales is inspired and by those that were made by Michael Roberts from the former Trumps restaurant in Los Angeles, California. If you decide to make tamales part of your holidays or not, they are delicious and worth making. Serve them with a quick and easy to make black bean chili, sweet pea guacamole, and cashew sour cream.

Feliz Navidad.

Sweet Corn Tamales with Red and Green Peppers
Makes about 18 medium size tamales.
For all ingredients, please consider using that are grown organically.
 
35 dried corn husks
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
3 ears of corn kernels
1 red peppers, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 cup masa harina, Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free
1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water
 
Put the corn husks in a large bowl of water and soak for about 30 minutes until they are softened and pliable.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the masa harina, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add the chopped onions, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt, and cook for about 10-15 minutes until they become translucent in color.
Add the corn kernels and the red, green, and jalapeno peppers to the onions. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
Put the corn and pepper mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse the mixture a few times. Do not process any further. Your goal is to break up the corn kernels and further chop the vegetables.
Add the vegetable mixture to the dry ingredients and use your hands to mix them all together.
Add the water and mix to combine. The dough should be moist.
Remove the corn husks from the water and pat dry. Cut or tear thin strips from about 5 of the husks to use as ties for the tamales.
Place about 1/4-1/3 cup of the tamale mixture into the center of a corn husk. Roll the sides around the mixture to close. Secure each end of the package by tying each end and trim. You can also simply fold the tamales into rectangular packages and forgo any tying. See video below to watch them being made by an expert.
At this point, you can refrigerate the tamales until you are ready to cook them. They will keep well for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 5 months.
Put the prepared tamales in the steamer basket or pasta basket of a large stockpot or dutch oven. Fill bottom of the pot with water being sure not to have it seep into the steamer basket.
Steam the tamales for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

 

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Categories: Gluten Free, Grains, Vegan Entrees, Videos
 

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