Cuban Tamale Pie Recipes

CUBAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour 1/2 cup white wine into saucepan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Stir 2 cups water, 5 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 beef bouillon cube, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and black pepper to pork mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, partially cover the saucepan with a lid, and simmer until pork is very tender, 1 to 2 hours. Transfer pork to a bowl and reserve cooking liquid.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chorizo and cooked pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir onion, green pepper, and remaining minced garlic into chorizo mixture; saute until vegetables soften and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add remaining white wine, olives, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, and remaining bouillon cube; cook, stirring frequently, until flavors combine, about 5 minutes more.
• Pulse corn and 1 1/2 cups reserved pork broth together in a blender or food processor until mixture has a thick and chunky consistency. Stir corn mixture into pork-chorizo mixture.
• Reduce heat to medium and stir masa harina, sugar, vinegar, and salt into pork mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture has a hearty cornmeal porridge-consistency. Season with salt and remove from heat.
• Make a pocket out of one corn husk and fill 3/4 full with pork mixture, leaving a top flap. Wrap another husk around the filled pocket. Fold top flap over the pocket. Tie twine length- and width-wise around the tamale several times so that packet is secure, but has room for filling to expand during cooking. Repeat with remaining husks and filling.
• Fill a pot with 2-inches of water; bring to a simmer. Place tamales upright in simmering water, cover the pot, and cook, adding water as necessary, until filling is hot and set, about 40 minutes. Cool tamales until completely set, at least 3 hours.

TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Marinate and cook pork:
• Combine juice, garlic, cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl, then whisk in oil. Add pork and toss to coat, then marinate, covered and chilled, turning occasionally, 3 hours.
• Drain pork, reserving marinade, then put pork in pressure cooker and add enough water to cover. Seal pressure cooker with lid and cook at high pressure, according to manufacturer's instructions, 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let pressure fall naturally.
• Make filling:
• When pork is cool enough to handle, drain, discarding liquid, and coarsely shred. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then lightly brown pork, stirring, until crisp.
• Transfer pork to a bowl with a slotted spoon, then add chorizo and ham to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly crisp, about 5 minutes. (If chorizo is very lean, add 1 tablespoon oil.) Add onions and bell peppers and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until tender but not browned, about 15 minutes. Add paprika and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Return pork to skillet, then add tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, Sherry, and reserved marinade. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm, covered. Prepare crust and bake pie: Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Oil a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish.
• Bring broth and 1 cup hot water to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and cover.
• Combine baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Whisk in oil until smooth, then stir in cornmeal. Stir in hot broth and let stand, uncovered, 10 minutes.
• Stir eggs into cornmeal mixture. Set aside 1 1/2 cups batter (for top crust).
• Stir corn kernels into remaining batter (for bottom crust) and spread over bottom and up sides of baking dish. Spoon filling into crust and sprinkle with cheese.
• Stir remaining 1/4 cup hot water into reserved batter and spread over top. Bake until top is browned, about 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

OLD-SCHOOL TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef, onion, and bell pepper in the hot skillet until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Stir tomatoes, tomato sauce, corn, olives, chili powder, garlic, cumin, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper into the skillet. Bring to a low boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese and continue to simmer until melted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
• Heat milk, butter, sugar, and salt for topping in a large saucepan over medium heat until butter has melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cornmeal a little at a time, stirring vigorously with each addition, until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Drizzle in beaten eggs slowly, stirring vigorously until combined. Pour mixture over filling in the prepared dish, smoothing evenly over the surface.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow pie to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.