Oaxacan Style Tamales wrapped in Banana Leaves

A few weeks ago, I finally had a few friends over for "comida" out on my patio over the weekend.  The weather was perfect.  I decided to have a Mexican themed dinner party and earlier in the week I made Oaxacan Style Tamales, Chicken tamales with Coloradito Mole wrapped in Banana Leaves.

Anyone who has made tamales before, you know it is very time consuming, especially when you don't have a pair of helping hands in the kitchen!  So I decided to make my life easier...  I had received an email from Christopher Kimball's Milk Street on line store advertising the Mole pictured above.  The ingredients looked really delicious and so I ordered two jars.  I also went a step further, I stopped at Costco and picked up one of their rotisserie chickens.  They really are the best, full of meat and very moist.  

My biggest pet peeve is a tamale that has a skimpy filling and ones that have way too much masa and that the masa is dry.  Bob's Red Mill really makes great products and I used their Masa Harina.  Make sure you check the freshness date, masa seems not to have the longest shelf life.

 

You can go to your local Mexican grocery store and ask the butcher for fresh pork lard, manteca or buy it in solid form at the grocery store.

Earlier in the week I also stopped at one of my favorite Asian markets and bought two packets of banana leaves (found in the freezer section).  

For the Filling:

1 Roasted chicken (approximately 3 lbs.) - take meat of the bones and roughly shred, 2 lbs.

1/2 jar of the Coloradito Mole (about 9 0z.) 

1 can chicken stock (also to be used in the masa preparation)

In a large bowl, using the back of a fork, incorporate 1/2 cup of the chicken stock into the mole to make it more like a paste.  Add the shredded chicken and toss well.  More mole can be added for a stronger, richer flavor.

For the Masa Mixture:

1 1/3 cup pork lard - manteca (if you have bought it fresh, you will want to whip it until it is   lighter in color and doubled in volume)

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups dried masa harina, mixed well with 2 1/4 cups of hot water to reconstitute

2  one-pound packages of banana leaves, defrosted.  (One packet may be adequate, but they are only a few dollars a packet and some may have cracks and splits in them.  Plus, they are great for wrapping a pork roast in when you want to doing some braising)

With the mixer on medium-high speed, beat the manteca with the baking soda and salt until light and airy.  Gradually add the reconstituted masa harina and mix well.  Reduce to medium-low speed and add 1 cup of the chicken stock.  Continue beating.  To ensure that you will have light and tender tamales, drop a teaspoon of the masa mixture into a cup of cold water, if it floats, it's perfect.  Beat in the last of the chicken stock (1/2 cup) or more if needed, until the batter is the consistency of soft cake batter.  For an extremely light masa mixture, refrigerate for an hour and then beat to a smooth consistency.  *taste and add more salt if needed.

Note:  A good rule of thumb: the ratio of lard beaten into prepared masa is 1 to 3, preferable by weight.

Makes:  16 tamales.  When serving with other side dishes, one tamale seems to be adequate but they are SO good, have a few extra in case someone wants seconds.

While the masa mixture is in the refrigerator, you will want to briefly run the banana leaves over an open flame on your gas burner until soft and glossy.  Cut off the one hard side of the leave, this is where the leaves were attached to the center vein.  Cut the leaves into 10" to 12" segments, avoiding any areas that are torn or have holes in them.   If the leaves split open while preparing, patch with a section of another leaf.

Cut a gallon zip-loc in half and use the one sheet in preparing the tamales.  With the shiny side of the banana leaf up, put 1/3 cup of the masa mixture on the leaf.  Place the zip-loc sheet on top of the masa and spread it out using the back of a soup (tablespoon) spoon.  Spreading it not all the way to the edges.  Remove the sheet of plastic.

Spoon about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture onto the masa as shown.  

 Close each tamale by folding the sides like folding a letter.

Then fold the top and bottom together, barely overlapping in the center.  Many more experienced tamale makers use the rib of the banana leaves to tie the bundles up.  Sometimes it is easy, sometimes they break.  So after all this work, I chose to tie them up with kitchen string.  Enough is enough...

At this point, the filled tamales may be refrigerated overnight or steamed and refrigerated.  The filling and the prepared masa can be made several days in advance and refrigerated too.  For all the work it takes into making tamales, I double the recipe so after I steam them, I can freeze them for a later date.  Just defrost thetamales in the refrigerator overnight before re-steaming. 

To Steam:

Not all of us have a tamale steamer.... I have a big pot that one uses for canning.  I haven't canned for years and I use it it to steam crab legs!  But a large pot that you boil pasta in works just as well.  Add a few inches of water into the pot.  With the wire basket or a large steamer in the bottom of the pot, place a few layers of the banana leaves over the basket with some of the leaves running slightly up the sides.  Stand the tamales up in the pot, folded side down.  Cover with extra leaves or scraps.  Cover with a lid.

Steam over medium-low heat for 45 to 55 minutes.  Tamales are done when the interior of the leaf has lost is bright green color and the leaf easily peels away from the masa.  Remove from the heat, uncover, and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

*prior to steaming, many suggest putting a quarter in the bottom of the pot.  If you hear it rattling, you know you will need to add more boiling water.

The filling was just sublime and the masa so moist and tender.  Next time I am enlisting my husband and we are going to make a bigger batch.

Buen Provecho!

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, turns 99!

 

My dad, Robert A. Mullen, also known as RAM for his initials, turns 99 on April 28!  AND he is amazing.  Most of his life, he has worked and he will always be the king of Advertising & PR and creative writing in my book. 

We are in constant awe of the bad commercials, ads in magazines, just the poor stuff that is out there in the world to day.  I could go on, and on, and on, but I will not.  

But I thought you would get a kick out of my sharp dad on what he emailed me the other day.

"On the east wall of my bathroom there is one of my prize photos which has a sole Mexican seated perfectly in the bull arena in San Miguel de Allende.  Not another sole.  It was one of those magic moments when everything was right... the sun, the composition.  There is a Corona Beer sign on the pony wall below him.  I looked at it today and it dawned on me what a great ad it would make.  Just the photo.  The advertiser's logo is already in the image.  And in our pandemic age of isolation the headline would be all the copy needed:

To those who must drink alone!"

He then signed off with, 

"Anyway, I will hit the hay. Forgive my creative juices.  Long may they run."

Then the next day I received a revision for his Corona campaign:

"When you need a friend."

 

A big Happy Birthday to my wonderful and creative Dad!!!

 

 

Puebla, Mexico is known for its exceptional cuisine!

For those who have never been to Puebla, Mexico, you are in for a treat if you join me on my tour to Puebla and Mexico City in October from the 8th to 17th.

Some of the most famous dishes of Mexico originated in Puebla and many of the specialties have very interesting legends behind them.

Puebla’s culinary tradition, known as Cocina Poblana, is popular throughout Mexico. A distinctive feature of the region’s cooking is mole, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon, a variety of other spices and nuts as well as different types of hot peppers. 

The most iconic dish is the world-famous Mole Poblano.   Usually served with chicken, pork, enchiladas or tamales, mole is actually used to describe any kind of salsa that is described in the way it is made, moler means "to grind" in Spanish.  

There are so many moles out there, like mole de Pipián, made with pumpkin seeds.  There is one dish that I had in Mexico City at one of my favorite restaurants, Los Limosneros, a Mole Rosa con Pollo (pink mole with chicken).  (This will be one of the many wonderful places we will eat at after spending a few days in Puebla.)  I finally tracked down the recipe for this mole!  It has a phenomenal array of ingredients:  almonds, peanuts, pinon nuts, sesame seeds, garlic, onion, habaneros, chili gueros, bread, banana, cinnamon, star anise, allspice, cloves, cranberries, beets and chicken stock.  

Oaxaca, on the other hand, is often nicknamed the "Land of the Seven Moles": colorado, mole negro, mancha manteles, verde, amarillo, chichilo and coloradito.   When in Oaxaca, I take my group to La Merced market where we start the day off by having a tamale tasting breakfast.  I have to say, the Mole Amarillo is one of my favorites.

Mole Coloradito is also one of my favorites!  Check out my next post on my Blog when I share with you my recipe on how to make Oaxacan Tamales with Mole Coloradito wrapped in banana leaves!  They are sublime.

But mole is sacred in Puebla!   Legend that the Dominican nun, Sor Andrea de la Asuncion, created the famous Mole Poblano when she found out that she had a very special guest coming for dinner.  In 1697 or 1698, the Bishop of Puebla heard that the viceroy of New Spain was paying a visit to town.  In haste, she cleaned out her kitchen crocks and created the first mole: made of more than 25 ingredients.   Grinding chilies with a pestle and adding a  variety spices, chocolates, garlic & turkey to create this special meal.  The sisters were so impressed with her creation, that one nun broke her silence and exclaimed, "Hermana, que bien mole!" - "Sister, how well do you grind!"  Somehow, this enthusiastic announcement by the one sister sounds much better in Spanish!

The viceroy was so impressed with this new creation, as a gift to the nuns, he had their entire kitchen tiled in the local Talavera tile.  We will be visiting this beautiful space on one of the days we are in Puebla.

Chiles en Nogada is another celebrated dish of Puebla.  They are poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo (a mixture of minced meat, mostly beef and pork, fruits and spices) bathed in nogada, a walnut cream sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds.  It is a festive dish typically served in the month of September to celebrate Independence Day because the colors of the dish are said to resemble the colors of the Mexican flag, green, white and red. 

According to Puebla legend, it was the Augustine nuns who were called upon to prepare a special feast for General Agustin de Iturbide who was the commander in charge of the Mexican War of Independence when victory was achieved.  He later became Mexico's first emperor.   After signing the treaty that gave Mexico its independence, he stopped in Puebla on his way to Mexico City from Veracruz for a celebratory dinner in his honor.  

When in Puebla on the first part of my tour this fall, we will dine at El Mural Los Poblanos, famous for their moles and Chiles en Nogoda.

We will be staying at the Mesón Sacristía de la Compañía in Puebla, an eight-room boutique hotel beautifully decorated with antiques and bright colors just a few blocks from the main square.  I have reserved the entire hotel and I have one room still available.  

If interested in joining me, please contact me at:  robindsg@aol.com.  

For more information on the itinerary, check out my post on my Blog, "Travel the ages... From the colonial town of Puebla to the lavish culture of Mexico City" posted on January 10th.

.