Category: Mains

Pat fish dry; place in a large resealable plastic bag. Whisk together 3 tablespoons canola oil, 2 tablespoons lime juice, cocoa, ancho chile powder, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Add to bag. Seal bag; turn to distribute marinade. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.

For slaw, combine sour cream, garlic and remaining 3/4 teaspoon lime juice. Stir in cabbage, corn, cilantro, and jalapeno. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a grill pan over medium-high. Remove tilapia from marinade. Cook 4 to 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork (145 degrees), turning once. Grill tortillas in a clean grill pan for 30 seconds or until slightly charred. Serve fish on tortillas with slaw and avocado. Garnish with cilantro and jalapeno slices, if desired. Serve with lime wedges.

If you have purchased prepared masa, you can skip this step. If you have masa harina (masa flour), add warm water to the masa harina, amount according to the instructions on the package. Stir to incorporate. Let sit for several minutes. Need the dough with your hands just enough so that all of the masa flour is incorporated. Knead in a couple tablespoons of olive oil.

Use a sharp knife and make a cut down the side of each chile. Pry open the chiles and remove the seed pods and stems. Pull off any visible veins that run down the insides of the chiles. Reserve a few of the seeds if you need to add them later for more heat.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Flatten out the chiles and place them open-side down on the skillet. Press down on them with a metal spatula. After a few seconds turn the chiles over and cook them a few more seconds. Heat them only enough to soften them and to release their flavor, do not heat them to the extent that they would brown or toast.

Place the chiles in a small saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the water to a boil and remove the pot from the heat. Let the chiles rest in the hot water for 10 minutes until they have softened. Alternatively, place the chiles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them, let them sit for 15 minutes, until softened.

Place the chiles and 1 1/2 cups of the chile soaking water into a blender. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and ground cloves. Purée until completely smooth, a couple of minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more salt and/or chili seeds if needed.

Place a sieve over a skillet and pour the sauce into the sieve, pressing it through to the skillet. Heat the skillet and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add a tablespoon of olive oil. Simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam. Remove from heat.

If you are using frozen banana leaves, rinse them under warm water to defrost. Cut away the thick edges of the leaves.

If you are using fresh banana leaves, also cut away the thick edges (and central stem if you are using freshly cut leaves). Note that you can cut off sinewy strips from the stem edge of the banana leaves to use as ties for the tamales. Rinse the leaves.

Banana leaves may be brittle and tear when you try to fold them. One way I’ve heard of to soften them is to soak them in warm, salted water for about an hour.

Cut the banana leaves into rectangles about 8″x10″. Dry off with a towel.

Coat the bottom of a very large sauté pan with 1-2 Tbsp olive oil. Heat to high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and carrots. Sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

Then add the tomatoes and squash. Sauté for a couple more minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted. Remove from heat.

Stir in 1/2 cup of chile sauce to the vegetables. Taste. Add more salt if needed.

Banana leaves have two sides. One side, the top of the leaf, is deep green and has somewhat thick ridges. The other side, the bottom of the leaf, is lighter green and is smoother. You will want to place the masa on the lighter green, smoother side of the leaf.

Lay out the rectangle piece of banana leaf, light side up. Place a 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of masa on the center of the banana leaf. Press down on it with the palm of your hand to spread it out a bit.

Place a small bit (about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon) of the red chili sauce on the masa. Place a strip of Monterey Jack cheese on top. Scoop some of the vegetable mixture (1/4 to 1/3 cup) on top of the cheese and masa.

Bring together the two long sides of the banana leaf and fold over, tucking one edge over the other if you can (if not, don’t sweat it). Fold the two remaining sides under the tamale.

Secure with a piece of kitchen string, or with some of the long stringy pieces that you can cut from the stem edge of the banana leaves.

You can also make ties by pulling off some long thin strips from the larger part of the banana leaf and tying them together to form a long enough strip with which to tie up a tamale. Or, you can skip the tying step all together and just fold them well.

Place a steamer rack in the bottom of a very large stockpot. Add enough water to almost come up to the level of the steam rack, about 3/4 or 1 inch. Line the top of the steam rack with banana leaves.

Carefully place the tamales in layers on the bottom of the pan. When you have added all of the tamales, add another layer of banana leaves. Cover the pot.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Steam cook for approximately one hour.

Makes approximately one dozen tamales.

Mix the olive oil (2 tablespoons), smoked paprika (1 tablespoon), ground coriander (1 teaspoon), ground cumin (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1 teaspoon), kosher salt (1 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), and lime juice and zest (from one lime) in a small bowl or glass measuring cup.

Place the chicken thighs in a container, bowl, or large plastic bag. Pour the marinade on top (it will be thick) and or stir to coat each piece of chicken evenly (if in a bag, just smoosh it around until everything is evenly coated). Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes, or as long as 24 hours.

Heat a large (12-inch) non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add marinated chicken; sear without moving on one side for 5-7 minutes (check that it’s not burning after 2-3 minutes- you may want to turn the heat down to medium if you have very hot burners or flip it earlier if it’s cooking fast).

Once the seared side is browned and looking crispy, flip to other side and sear, until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees F or meat is no longer pink (another 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness and size of chicken. Turn the heat down to medium or medium-low if both sides are seared but inside is not yet cooked the whole way). If you have a lid to your skillet, you can cover it to speed up the cooking time a bit.

Remove chicken from skillet to a cutting board. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then shred with two forks. Optional: for an extra punch of flavor, you can return the shredded chicken to the skillet to coat in the cooking juices.

In a large pot add the beef, onion, garlic, oregano, salt & pepper. Cover with enough water to cook the ingredients (about 2 liters).

Cook until the meat is fork tender and comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hours. When done, remove the roast to a platter to cool, reserve the beef broth.

Hand shred the meat
Add the 2 cups of red chile sauce and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Place the corn husks in a large container or bowl and cover with warm water. Place something heavy on top of the husks in order to keep them submerged. Soak for at least 20 minutes to soften them up.

In a mixing cup, add the broth and red sauce and combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the shortening, salt, and baking powder.

Mix on medium/low power until it’s light and fluffy. About 8 to 10 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula to mix the ingredients on the sides.

Alternate wet and dry ingredients: With the mixer still running, add some of the masa (the size of a tennis ball) and mix. Then add some of the sauce and mix.

Repeat until all the masa and sauce are fully incorporated and have a smooth & silky batter.

To test when the masa is ready, add a dollop of it in a glass with cold water: if it floats, then it’s ready.

What if the masa doesn’t float? Just continue kneading the masa for a few more minutes. This will make it more fluffy and eventually will float.

Get all of your ingredients lined up and ready for assembly.

Scoop about a ¼ cup masa into one large or two overlapping smaller husks and smear it with a small spatula or back of a spoon.

Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons of shredded meat, 1 potato slice & olives (optional).

Fold one side of the husk to enclose then the other side on top of it.

Tie the tamales: Fold up the bottom to the top (the narrow end), leaving the top open. Then tie with a string made from the husk.

Using a large steamer or a tamalera pot, add water to the bottom of the steamer making sure it will not overflow into the steaming tray. The tamales should not touch the water.

Place the tamales standing up and do not over pack the pot since it may affect how they cook.

Cover and steam on medium heat for one hour.

To test whether tamales are done, remove one from the pot and gently unfold one of the sides. The dough should pull away from the husk easily not leaving any wet masa on the husk, and the tamale should hold together.

The texture of a fully cooked tamale is bread like but very fine-grained and moist.

Serve hot with beans or your favorite side dish and your favorite salsa.

Slice them thinly then place in small to medium pot.
Cover with water and cook for about 4 minutes or until they’re cooked half way only. They will finish cooking when you steam the tamales.