Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Bayless: Casserole-style zucchini tamal

This Rick Bayless recipe was so good I'm going to copy it here. The casserole isn't fancy or handsome. But it's tasty, super-easy, and uses up zucchini. Serves 6.

1. Mix 1 3/4 cup dried masa harina (see left) with 2 cup plus 2 TBS hot tap water. Stir until it's doughy.

2. Beat a stick of softened unsalted butter with 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon baking powder until fluffy. 

3. Add the masa to the butter and keep beating. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 small, grated zucchini, 1/2 cup finely chopped ham, 1/2 cup chopped watercress leaves, and 1/2 cup finely sliced green onion. Mix until well blended and put into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Place a buttered piece of parchment or foil on top of the tamal.

4. Set up a steamer that will accommodate the pie plate. (I use a wide soup pot with a trivet in the bottom.) Steam the tamal for 90 minutes, checking to be sure the water doesn't boil out. If it starts to get low, add more.

5. Let the tamal cool off and firm up for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with salsa and/or guacamole.


8 comments:

  1. i'm going to have to make this, because i have to say it doesn't sound so good to me- sounds too doughy and mush and not crunchy or sharp enough, but i trust you! did you take a photo? i would very much like to see what it looks like.

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  2. Well, if you don't love tamales, you won't love this. There is no crunch. The salsa provides the sharp. I wouldn't use the word "doughy" or "mush," but it's definitely soft.
    The batteries were out on my camera that night, so no photograph. Beige, flat, not striking to look at.

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  3. I adore tamales. I'm making this pronto.

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  4. Thanks for the photo of the masa. Now I get what it is. Recipe looks excellent, except 90 minutes is a long time for cooking something and being sure the water does not boil away. I will try it and report back.

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  5. Thanks for the photo of the masa. Now I get what it is. Recipe looks excellent, except 90 minutes is a long time for cooking something and being sure the water does not boil away. I will try it and report back.

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  6. Could you please explain the steamer a little more? Does the pie pan sit down in the water or above it? Thanks. I really want to try this.

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  7. AndyB: Basically, you need any kind of platform that will keep your plate raised ABOVE the level of the water. I have bought these cheap, stainless steel "trivets" with three inch legs that you can just stand in the bottom of a soup pot. I was going to link to a photo but I don't even know what they're called.

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  8. I made it using cilantro instead of watercress, 1 cup grated monterey jack cheese instead of ham, and a roasted Hatch chili chopped. It was excellent!

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