Polenta Tamale Pie Recipes

EASY OLD SCHOOL TAMALE PIE (WITHOUT JIFFY!)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a cast iron skillet with butter or spray a pie plate, 11X7 pan, or 9X9 pan with cooking spray.
• Whisk together cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add egg, melted butter, milk, and cream style corn. Whisk to combine. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean and edges are golden brown. Remove from oven and decrease oven temperature to 375ºF.
• Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cornbread surface. Pour 1/2 can enchilada sauce on top and spread evenly over cornbread. Set aside.
• While cornbread is baking, begin to make filling. In a large skillet brown beef over medium high heat and drain, if necessary. To the browned beef stir in remaining enchilada sauce, salsa, and chili powder. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes until thickened.
• Spread beef filling over cornbread. Top with cheese and return to 375ºF oven for 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with additional salsa, cilantro, sour cream, and sliced avocado.

POLENTA TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Sauté beef in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking up meat with back of fork, about 3 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add salsa, beans and broth. Simmer until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup cilantro; season with salt and pepper.
• Oil 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Place half of polenta in dish. Top with sauce and 1 1/2 cups cheese, then remaining polenta, cheese and cilantro. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with foil; chill.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake freshly assembled pie, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes, or bake refrigerated pie, covered, 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until heated through, about 35 minutes.

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.

CORNBREAD TAMALE PIE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a casserole over a medium-high heat and fry the beef mince until browned all over - you may need to do this in batches. Transfer the browned mince to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Add the chorizo to the pan and brown all over for a few minutes, then add to the bowl with the mince.
• Add the onions and peppers to the pan and fry over a medium heat until the onions are golden and the peppers are soft, about 15 mins. Add the chillies, garlic, cumin and cinnamon, and cook for another couple of minutes.
• Return the beef and chorizo to the pan, then tip in the canned tomatoes, drained black beans, stock and tomato purée. Bring to just under the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the sugar, lime juice and some seasoning. Cover slightly, leaving just a little opening on one side for steam to escape, and cook for 50 mins, stirring occasionally. In the last 10 mins of cooking time, stir in the coriander and hot sauce, and a little more seasoning. The chilli should be thick but not dry - if it's too dry, splash in some water. Spoon into a roughly 1.5-litre pie dish or deep baking dish. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
• To make the cornbread topping, mix together the cornmeal or polenta, flour, a large pinch of salt, the sugar, chillies, spring onions and coriander. Mix the milk, butter and eggs together in a jug. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, then add the sweetcorn and cheese. Stir until just combined, being careful not to overmix, then spoon in dollops over the surface of the chilli. At this stage, the pie can be frozen. Leave to cool completely first, then wrap in a layer of baking parchment followed by a double layer of foil. Will keep in the freezer for up to two months.
• Bake for 25 mins until a skewer inserted into the cornbread (being careful not to go through to the chilli) comes out clean. To bake from frozen, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unwrap the pie and bake for 1 hr-1 hr 10 mins, or until the filling is piping hot and the topping is cooked through. If the top starts to get too dark, cover with foil.
• When you're almost ready to serve, put the avocado in a serving bowl, squeeze over the lime juice, then add the coriander leaves and gently toss together. Serve alongside the pie with some soured cream or Greek yogurt, if you like.