Friday, April 11, 2014

!Ay Caramba! It's a tamale pie!

Recipe: Tamale pie with polenta


Wow, tamale pie is an old school dish I remember from my hippie days. That was a few years ago! I loved it then, and here it is now - updated and twice as good. You might not have heard of tamale pie. The "pie" is a mix of ground meat and South of the Border-style seasonings plus beans and corn, cooked and mounded in a pie plate, topped with cornbread, and baked in the oven until the cornbread is done. Inexpensive, kinda spicy, majorly tasty - it's hard to beat a tamale pie for good eating.

.The part I didn't like so much in the "old" days, before I learned to make it myself, was the cornbread topping. It was always too sweet and when it soaked up the juices of the spicy filling, the tastes clashed in my mouth. Finally, here's a solution for that problem. Top it with polenta, an Italian staple, instead of cornbread. Quicker to make, lighter, not as sweet, and totally yum. And gluten-free, if that's important to you.

This recipe really makes enough for four, and that's not what we usually do at Two for Dinner. We're going to do it this time though, because tamale pie is even better the next day and warms up perfectly in the microwave for lunch or even for a second-day dinner. It's that good! However, if you truly want to make just enough for two, this is one of those few recipes where you can half all the ingredients, put it together exactly as indicated below, and simply bake it in a smaller oven-proof baking dish. My guess is, you will wish you had made the whole recipe.

Thoughts on the filling: This filling is so killer, I couldn't help but think of other ways I could use it. For instance, in Stuffed Red Bell Peppers, the peppers parboiled whole, then stuffed and baked. Or in Nachos, over taco chips with more cheese on top and run under the broiler for a minute or two. Or in Tacos, or Enchiladas , or Tostadas. . . well, I could go on.

New Tamale Pie

Adapted from a recipe from America's Test Kitchen

I used ground turkey, because that's what I usually do - you know, lean, healthy, and what I have on hand. You can use ground beef, ground pork, or a combination with equal success.

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or olive oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey (or other ground meat)
  • 1 large leek, dark leaves cut off, white part washed well and chopped, or 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 medium jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped fine, or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chile powder (I used ground New Mexican Red Chile)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
  • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup polenta (coarse ground cornmeal)
Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat one tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up large clumps, until it begins to brown.

Add leeks or onion, chopped chile or flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, garlic, and oregano and cook until fragrant, a few seconds. Stir in beans, tomatoes and their juice, and corn and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Off heat, stir cheese into the meat mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mound the mixture into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate or an equivalent baking dish.

Now's the fun part - the polenta. Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, then slowly pour in the cournmeal while whisking vigorously to prevent clumping. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, until the cornmeal thickens, about 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Spread the polenta over the top of the meat mixture and seal it against the sides of the dish, all the way around. Put in the oven and bake until the polenta is set and the pie is heated through, about 35 minutes. If it looks like it's getting too brown on top, loosely cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray.

Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

The payoff
Black beans, high in fiber and antioxidents, are a protein-rich superfood, providing support for a healthy digestive system.
Cornmeal, also a high-fiber contributor, boosts your iron intake (especially important for women) and supports healthy brain function.
This dish is gluten-free.




No comments:

Post a Comment