Colombian Tamales Tolimense Style Recipes

COLOMBIAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Prepare the marinade the night before you plan to make the tamales. Chop one bunch of green onions. Mince 2 garlic cloves. Combine, then add 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1 packet of sazon. Rub mixture all over both chicken and ribs. Place meat in separate plastic baggies to marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
• Next make the "hogao," a kind of sofrito. Combine chopped tomatoes, 1 bunch of chopped green onions, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 packet of sazon, 1/6 cup of chopped cilantro, olive oil and salt to taste in a skillet and saute until everything is soft and tender, kind of like a mush. Cool and refrigerate until ready to assemble tamales.
• Now you can make the "pique" sauce. Combine 1 bunch chopped green onions, 3 cloves minced garlic, fresh lemon juice, remaining chopped cilantro, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, sugar, vinegar and salt to taste. Make this at least 2 hours before serving so flavors develop.
• Prepare masa harina according to package directions except use chicken broth in place of water and salt to taste. This mixture should have flavor unlike an arepa which is more bland (my husband says the masa is the best part). It should be fairly moist, but still stay together like a dough when pressed. If it is too wet you can still use it, it is just more messy.
• Now the hardest part is assembling them. Place about 1/4 cup of dough in the center of a banana leaf and spread it out. Put one rib and one chicken thigh piece on top. Place about 3 slices of the carrots, 6 potato sticks and 3 slices egg on top of the meat. Sprinkle with peas. Spoon 3 tablespoons of the "hogao" (sofrito) over all, then top with another 1/2 cup of spread out masa. This does not have to be uniform or even neat.
• Next pull up the sides of the banana leaf to form a packet. Tie with kitchen string, but do not let any of the filling seep out (I told you it was hard). If the leaves break just reinforce with extra banana leaves. Wrap packet in aluminum foil. Repeat 5 times.
• They are now ready to steam. Use a large Dutch oven with a steamer insert so the tamales do not touch the water in the bottom of the Dutch oven. These need to cook about 3 hours. You probably will have to replenish the water during the cooking process. Stack the tamales all the way to the top in the steamer pot and turn up the heat to high. If your pot does not hold all of them, just refrigerate or freeze the rest until you can steam them later. When you hear the water boiling furiously, turn the heat down to medium.
• Serve the tamales on a section of banana leaf. With the "pique" sauce on the side to be drizzled on bites of the tamale.

TAMALES TOLIMENSES (TOLIMA REGION TAMALES)

Steps:

• Place all the marinade ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade to prepare the masa.
• In a large plastic bowl place all the meat, add 1 1/2 cups of the marinade. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight.
• To prepare the masa: Place the masarepa in a large bowl, add the water, salt, sazon Goya or color and reserved marinade. Mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands.
• Wash the leaves well with hot water and set aside.
• To assemble the tamales: Place 1 piece of the leaf on a work surface and place a second leaf on top, pointing in the opposite direction, like forming a cross.
• . Spread 1/2 cup of masa and about 1/4 cup of rice in the center of the banana leaves, at the point where they connect and form a cross. Place, 1 piece pork belly, 1 piece of chicken and 1 piece of rib on top of the masa and place about 1 tablespoon of peas, 1 or 2 slices of carrots and 2 slices of potatoes on top of the meat.
• Bring the corners of the banana leaves up to the middle of the filling, and tie it with butcheru2019s string right above the filling, so that there is a tuft of leaves above the string (see picture). Continue the process until all the tamales are wrapped and tied.
• Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add the tamales and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 2 hours. Remove the tamales from the pot and let them sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Cut the stirring and serve in the leaves. Serve hogao on the side if desired.

COLOMBIAN TAMALES (TOLIMENSE STYLE)

Steps:

• Day 1. Blend all the ingredients of the marinade in a blender or food processor.
• Put the pork meat in two resealable bags or in glass/plastic bowls and add the marinade. Close the bags, massage them well to make sure the meat is well covered with it and refrigerate overnight.
• If you're using frozen banana leaves, you can thaw them out by leaving them in the fridge overnight.
• Day 2. Carefully take the leaves out of each bag and cut them into rectangles, approx. 20 inches long (50 cm) each.
• Clean both sides of each leaf with a damp cloth or paper towel. If the leaves are stiff, you can pass them through a stove burner set to medium low for a few seconds to soften them. This also helps to avoid cracks.
• Peel and cut the potatoes into thick slices and place them in water in a medium bowl. Season the water with salt and the food coloring/all-purpose seasoning to taste if you want.
• Peel and cut the carrots into slices and place them in water in a small container. Season the water with salt to taste if you want.
• To make the guiso or seasoned sauce: In a large pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat and add the green onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes or until they're softened. Add the chicken bouillon, food coloring/all-purpose seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper and stir well. Add a bit of water if the sauce is too thick.
• To make the masa (dough): Place the water for the masa in a large pot over medium low heat, add the chicken bouillon, food coloring/all-purpose seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and salt. Heat the water on the stove without bringing it to a boil. Then, slowly add the pre-cooked corn meal and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until it looks like thick oatmeal. If the masa is too thick, you can add more water. Add the sweet peas, the rice and pork lard, stir well and remove from the stove.
• To assemble the tamales: Place 3-4 pieces of banana leaves one on top of the other on a flat surface.
• Spread about about ¼-½ cup of masa in the center of the leaves.
• Place 2 carrot slices, 2 potato slices and ½ an egg in the masa.
• Place 1 piece of pork rib, 1 piece of pork belly and 1 piece of chicken over the masa.
• Add 1 tbsp of guiso over the meat.
• Add a bit more masa over the guiso.
• Close the tamal by grabbing all sides of the leaves towards the center forming a ball at the bottom and then tie it with the butcher string going around 3-4 times. Cut off the excess leaves if you want. Repeat this process with every single tamal.
• To cooke the tamales: Fill ¼ of a large pot (Tamalera) with water and season with salt. Place a steam rack inside the pot to avoid letting the tamales touch the bottom or the water. Bring water to a boil. **Note: If you don't have a steam rack you can place sticks or left over banana leaves in the bottom of the pot instead.
• Place the tamales on the steam rack one on top of the other and steam them on low heat for about 2½ hours. Check the water level every 30 minutes to prevent it from evaporating completely.
• Once the tamales are ready, take them out and let them rest for a few minutes before serving.