Ecuadorian Humitas Recipes

ECUADORIAN HUMITAS

Steps:

• Remove green husks and silk from corn, being careful to keep husks whole. Discard silk. Place husks in large pot of boiling water and blanch 1 minute. Remove from water; drain.
• Cut kernels off cobs. Place half of the kernels and onions in blender container; cover. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Place remaining corn kernels, butter, baking powder, eggs and cornmeal in blender container; cover. Blend until smooth. Add to corn puree in bowl. Stir in cheese. (Batter will be thick but not stiff.)
• Place 2 of the corn husks on work surface, with long sides slightly overlapping. Spoon 1/4 cup of the corn puree onto bottom half of the husks; fold the top of the husks over the filling. Fold in half from the left side, then fold in half again from the right side. (One end of each humita should remain open.) Repeat with 34 of the remaining corn husks and remaining corn puree. Keep folded ends in place by tieing closed with thin strips of the remaining corn husks.
• Fill a large pot with 2 cups water. Line steamer basket with half of the leftover corn husks; place in pot. Stand the humitas, open ends up, in the basket; cover with the remaining corn husks. Cover the pot with a lid. Bring water to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to low; steam 30 minutes or until humitas are firm.

CREAMY CORN EMPANADAS: HUMITAS

Steps:

• Make the filling: Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook until smooth and bubbly, about 3 minutes. Add the milk slowly while whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, paying special attention to the corners of the saucepan. Add the paprika and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the corn and parsley, return to a simmer. Scrape the filling into a bowl and cool completely before filling wrappers.
• To Form: Moisten the edges of 1 of the empanada wrappers with a fingertip dipped in warm water. Center a generous 1/3-cup of the filling on the wrapper. Bring the sides of the wrapper together to meet over the filling and pinch the sides together to seal and form a half-moon shape. Lay the half-moon flat on the work surface. Work you way around the edges, bringing about 1/2-inch of the bottom layer of dough up and over the top layer, to make a mini-pleat. Press as you go to seal the pleats. If you don't want to mess with crimping, just seal the edges all the way around with the tips of the tines of a fork.
• Fry the Empanadas: (empanadas may also be baked; see Note below): Pour enough vegetable or canola oil into a large heavy skillet to fill about 3/4-inch up the sides. Heat over medium heat until the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon immersed in the oil gives off a lively sizzle, about 375 degrees F. Carefully slip as many of the empanadas into the oil as will fit without crowding. Cook until the dough is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip and repeat. Drain briefly on paper towels before serving. Repeat with remaining empanadas.
• Note: To bake empanadas, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or use a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until the empanadas are light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool a few minutes before serving.

ECUADOREAN ECUADORIAN TAMALES DE NAVIDAD - FOR CHRISTMAS

Steps:

• Place whole chicken in large pot with water to cover. Add 1 whole onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 sprigs parsley, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is falling off the bone.
• Remove chicken from water & cool.
• Strain broth and reserve 4 cups.
• When cool, skin and bone chicken. Shed chicken meat.
• Add 2 tbsp oil in skillet and add 1/2 diced onion. Sauté over low heat until very soft. Add peanut butter and mix until melted, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tbsp sugar, milk and allspice. Cook until almost ready to boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In large heavy pot, place masa flour and 3 cups cooled broth. First whisk and then continue to mix with strong wooden spoon. Cook over medium high heat, do not let lumps form. Turn often with wooden spoon. When a thin dark brown crust forms on the bottom of the pot, it is done.
• Let masa cool in pot until lukewarm. Turn masa out onto board or waxed paper.
• When cool enough to handle, add butter, and lard if you are using it. Knead in by hand. Add 6 oz sugar and knead it. Taste a bit of masa for salt. If your broth was not salty, add 1/2-3/4 tsp salt. Add in the 3 eggs, one at a time. Knead well.
• Separate out balls of dough, about the size of a small lemon. Place in center of each banana leaf or foil or parchment paper square wrapper and pat out with your hand until each is about 6" round.
• Place about 1/4 c chicken filling onto each masa round.
• Place one piece of hard-boiled egg, one olive, 1 slice red bell pepper, 3 pieces of parboiled onion and 3 raisins on top of chicken mixture on each masa round.
• Fold over each round into half-moon shape and press edges together well.
• Fold over wrapper and tie with kitchen twine if using banana leaves. if using foil or parchment paper, seal edges well.
• Place tamales, in batches, in steamer and steam for 30 minutes.
• Serve with wrapper still on. Each person opens their own.
• If you want to omit a certain filling ingredient from some of them, you can tie different colors of thread around those to identify them later.

ANDEAN HUMITA EN CHALA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until soft (do not let it brown), about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Cut around base of each ear of corn and gently remove husks whole. Reserve husks. Brush silk off ears.
• Grate kernels off corncobs into medium bowl, or slice off and pulse in processor to rough purée. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in cooked onions, milk, and red pepper flakes. Chill mixture until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350° F. To assemble 1 humita, choose a thinner, more flexible inner husk and tie thin end into knot. Split up to knot and set aside to use as tie. Lay 2 of widest husks side by side (narrow ends at top and bottom), overlapping a few inches to form rectangle. Spoon 1/4 cup filling into center, then fold sides over to cover filling. Fold in top and bottom to make enclosed rectangular package. Tie crosswise with knotted husk. Repeat with remaining filling and husks. Place finished humitas on baking sheet and bake until heated through, about 15 minutes.