Spinach Corn Tamales Recipes

VEGETARIAN TAMALES WITH SPINACH, CORN AND CHEESE FILLING

Steps:

• Dried corn husks need to be soaked in warm water prior to using to make them soft & pliable. Fill a deep pan with warm water and soak the dried husks for 15~20 minutes.
• Soak more husks than you need for the recipe because there might be rips and tears and also you need a few extra to line the steamer basket and tie the tamales. Once the husks are ready, then drain and keep them ready.
• Heat oil in a saute pan on medium heat, add the onions and cook till they translucent. Stir in the garlic cloves and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
• Add green pepper, corn and spinach. Cook covered till the veggies are tender, about 3~5 minutes.
• Stir in cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and turn off the heat.
• Set up the steaming basket. Fill the pot with 2~3" of water, or whatever level will stay below the steamer basket. Line the steamer basket with a few corn husks and keep ready.
• In a large mixing bowl, with a handheld mixer or in a stand mixer, cream together the shortening and margarine until creamy and light.
• Sift in the masa harina, baking powder, garlic powder and salt, then continue to beat for about 3 minutes, until a sandy looking mixture forms.
• Pour the vegetable stock into the masa mixture and continue to beat until all the liquid is absorbed and a fluffy dough forms, about 5 minutes.
• The tamale dough should have a moist -- almost like mashed potato consistency - and should be easily spread with a rubber spatula. If the mixture seems too wet, then sprinkle in another tablespoon or two of masa harina. If too dry, then drizzle a tablespoon of vegetable stock until the desired consistency is reached. Use this dough right away for making tamales.
• Once Step 1~4 are done, get ready to make the tamales.
• For each tamale, spread a generous ¼cup of dough down the center of a pliable soaked corn husk, leaving at least 1½" on either end. This will form a oblong of 4~5" wide and ⅜~½" thick. Spoon 1 generous tablespoon of filling down the center of the tamale dough, then top with a little of the grated cheese.
• Grab both the edges of the corn husk that are not covered with dough. Bring the edges toward each other and push the sides of the masa dough together to encase the filling. Gently press the tamale to form a firm, solid tube shape. Tightly twist each end of the tamale wrapper and tightly tie each end with a soaked corn husk strip. You can even use kitchen twine to tie the tamales.
• About half way through the tamale making, turn the steam basket on and get the water going. So that the steamer will be ready for you when the tamales are done.
• Fill a large saucepan with 2~3" water. Line the steamer basket with a few soaked corn husks. Set the tamales upright in the basket, starting from the sides of the basket and working inward. Top with any leftover corn husks.
• Place the steamer basket in the pot, cover and steam for at least 45~55 minutes. Halfway through cooking, make sure to see if the water in the steamer has all evaporated. If it is, then pour water.
• Check one to see if they are done, if not steam for an additional 5~10 minutes.
• Add about 2 cups of water in the instant pot container. Place the prepared tamale in a steamer basket. Close the lid and put the vent to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Let the pressure reduce naturally.

SPINACH AND CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Makes 13 tamales.
• Add piping hot vegetable stock to masa in a mixer. Mix until all is integrated. Add the vegetable mixture with the salt and baking powder. Integrate completely then add the oil. Mix for 3 minutes.
• Grind all of the Filling ingredients in a food processor.
• On a soaked corn husk, add about 1/3 cup of masa mixture. Flatten the masa into a large rectangle on the corn husk. Add about 2 large tablespoons full of filling down the middle of the masa rectangle in a strip. Roll the tamale up and repeat until all tamales are made. Steam the tamales in a steamer for 45 minutes.

SPINACH TAMALES

Steps:

• blend the rice to powderize it.
• mix everything together adding warm water until you get a soft batter.
• spread the batter on the on the husk or you can use foil paper instead.
• Cook in a tamale steamer for about 1 hour.

SPINACH-CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak corn husks in hot water 30 min. Meanwhile, beat next 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer on low speed until blended. Gradually add warm water, beating after each addition until light and fluffy. Combine vegetables and cheese.
• Drain corn husks. Spread about 1/3 cup masa dough into 4x3-inch rectangle down center of each of 12 husks, leaving about 2 inches at top of husk. Top each with 1/3 cup spinach mixture. Fold over both sides and 1 end of each husk to enclose filling.
• Pour 3 cups water into tamalera pot or 8-qt. stockpot fitted with steamer basket. Line bottom of basket with some of the remaining corn husks. Place tamales, open-ends up, in tamalera; cover with remaining husks or damp kitchen towel. Cover with lid. Bring water to boil on medium-high heat; simmer on medium-low heat 1 hour or until tamales pull away from husks, adding more boiling water to pan and adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil.

CREAMED CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of hot water until pliable, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the dough: Combine the masa harina and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the corn and 1/2 cup hot water until combined. Add the butter and mix with your hands until evenly distributed.
• Remove the corn husks from the water and shake dry. Unfold the husks on a clean surface (discard any small husks or husks with holes). Put about 1/4 cup dough down the center of a husk; fold in the long sides to enclose the filling, then fold in the top and bottom to make a packet. Secure with kitchen twine. Repeat with the remaining dough and husks.
• Set up a steamer basket in a large pot filled with 2 inches of water. Arrange the tamales standing up in the steamer and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the tamales are firm, about 1 hour. Remove from the steamer and let rest 10 minutes before unwrapping.

EASY CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Working in batches, add the corn kernels to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale. Add the egg, salt, and baking powder. Mix to incorporate. Add the flour and pureed corn and mix until blended and forms a loose smooth dough.
• Put a corn husk lengthwise in front of you with the wide side closest to you. Spread 3 tablespoons of the dough all over the bottom half (wide side) of the corn husk, leaving about a 1-inch-wide border on the left and right sides. Pick up the 2 long sides of the corn husk and bring them together. Roll both sides of the corn husks in the same direction over the filling.
• Repeat with remaining corn husks and dough. Arrange the tamales, seam side down, in a steamer and add 1/2-inch of water. Cover with a tight fitting lid, bring to a simmer and steam for 1 hour, adding additional water, as needed to maintain 1/2-inch of water in the pan. Remove the tamales from the steamer to a serving platter and serve.

FRESH SPINACH TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Place tamales in a single layer in a greased 6-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine beans, corn, onions, olives and garlic powder; spoon over tamales. In same bowl, combine pepper, sour cream and chiles; spoon over bean mixture. Top with spinach., Cook, covered, on low until heated through, 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with bacon, cheese and additional green onions.

REAL HOMEMADE TAMALES

Steps:

• Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
• Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
• Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
• Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM TAMALE FILLING

Steps:

• Begin with the spinach by washing, stemming, and chopping it into approximately 1/4-1/2 inch pieces. Mince the garlic and onions; brush, slice, and chop the mushrooms.
• Over medium-high heat in a *very* large pot (I use my largest Le Creuset) heat the oil. Add the minced garlic and scallion and sauté quickly, stirring, for about 20 seconds (careful not to burn the garlic!).
• Quickly decrease the temperature to medium and add the sliced mushrooms, and allow to sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, salt, sugar, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon. (This step is admittedly the messiest part of making the filling, because spinach is so much larger before it cooks down; I usually add it about a 1/3 at a time to the large pot, stir it and wait for it to cook down a bit, and add more until I've got all of it into the pot. Cover it for about 2 minutes, stir again and uncover, and continue cooking.) Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
• Pour cooked mixture into a colander and allow to drain - if you like, you can reserve the juices for making sauce for the tamales after they're cooked or for some other use.
• Lower the temperature to low and add the crema and cotija and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring so that it's mixed well and the cheeses do not scald. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Use as filling for your tamales and enjoy! I prefer to make a simple crema and garlic sauce for these tamales, but a red sauce is also good (although it can overpower the lighter tasting tamales, so you'll want to be careful). Also, although the small amount of salt might not seem like enough when reading through the recipe, remember that cotija cheese is salty - it provides plenty of seasoning to the filling.

SWEET TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil into a cold skillet; sprinkle in garlic. Cook garlic over medium heat until sizzling and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir onion, salt, and pepper into the garlic and olive oil; cook until onion is translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Cook and stir ground beef into onion mixture until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Mix 2 cans Mexican-style corn, salsa, hot tomato sauce, 1 can chopped green chiles, and taco seasoning into ground beef mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover skillet, and simmer until liquid has reduced, about 15 minutes. Transfer meat mixture to a 10x14-inch casserole dish.
• Stir corn bread mix, milk, vegetable oil, and egg together in a bowl; fold in 2 cans drained Mexican-style corn, 1 can drained green chiles, Mexican cheese blend, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spoon cornbread mixture over meat mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the corn bread comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

BUTTERY FRESH CORN TAMALES

Steps:

• Reconstitute the corn husks.
• Place 2 cups corn kernels in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse into a medium- coarse puree. Add the butter, and pulse 5 or 6 times. Add the masa, sugar, salt, and baking powder; pulse until thoroughly combined. Process until the mixture is light, fluffy, and homogenous, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice.
• Transfer mixture to a medium bowl, and stir in remaining 3/4 cup corn kernels until combined. Chill corn filling until ready to use.
• Assemble 14 tamales with the corn filling, using the large husks for wrappers and ties, and reserving the smaller ones to line the steamer basket and to cover the assembled tamales.
• Prepare the steamer, and steam the tamales. Let stand until the batter has firmed. Serve tamales with sour cream and Chopped Tomato and Serrano Salsa.