Welcome again to Mexico and Central America. One food that is common across this area are tamales. Tamales come in many different styles across the region. We’ll be trying our hand at a more simple tamal, the tamal de elote.
Recipe
1 Packet of Corn Husks
2 Large cans of Mexican Hominy
1/2 cup of butter
1 Tablespoon of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of masa harina (like maseca)
1.) Soak the corn husks in hot water to make them more pliable.
2.) Drain the corn/hominy and process in a food processor until mostly smooth.
3.) In a bowl, use a hand mixer to whip together the softened butter, salt, sugar, and baking powder.
4.) Add the corn mixture to the whipped butter and mix together.
5.) Mix in about 3 tablespoons of the corn mixture into the middle of each corn husk. Then fold the sides and the top and bottom of the husk to enclose the mixture.
6.) Place the tamales into a steamer basket. Stand them on their end and fill up as much of the basket as you can.
7.) Steam the tamales for about 1.5 hours.
Once they are done, take them out of the steamer, remove the corn husks and enjoy! These are great by themselves or you can serve them with rice and refried beans. They are also good with Mexican crema and Salvadoran curtido!