Tamale Pie

What better way for a bunch of gringos in Mexico to celebrate Mexico’s independence then to eat some good ol’ tamale pie? This version, however, is a more sophisticated take on the standard ground beef topped with cornbread mix that seems to be popular in the southern US. This recipe uses real masa harina (corn four used in tortillas) in the crust, and is topped with beans and a chicken tinga mixture, along with goat cheese and roasted bell peppers.

Ingredients

3-4 red and green bell peppers

3 cups masa harina

1.5  tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup plus a few Tbs. water

2 cups cooked or canned black and/or pinto beans, mashed

1 batch tinga de pollo

1 tsp sugar

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

6-8 ounces chevre

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chipotle powder

Assembling the tamale pies

Place the peppers in the oven to roast. When the peppers are roasted (ie, skin is blistered and they are soft), take them out of the oven. When they are cool, peel off the skin and cut them into strips. The shortcut here is to use canned roasted peppers. You can also make the tinga de pollo while the peppers are roasting if you haven’t already.

Masa layer: mix the masa harina with the salt, then cut the shortening in with a fork or pastry knife until it is in small pieces and you have a crumbly mixture. Then slowly mix in the water, adjusting the amount so that you have a dough mixture that holds together but is not too wet. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a 9×13 greased baking dish.

Assemble the rest of the ingredients into the pie: spread the bean layer onto the masa, then top with the chicken tinga, the crumbled goat cheese, and the pepper strips (alternating red and green for the Mexican flag effect!). Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 45 minutes. When you take out the pie, you can sprinkle it with some crumbled cotija or additional goat cheese if you want.

While the pie is baking, make the sauce. Empty the can of chopped tomatoes into a saucepan and add the cumin and chipotle, along with some salt and pepper. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then add the sugar and stir and simmer for a few minutes more.

I also made a lactose-free version of this for my non-dairy eating friends. In a smaller round pan I assembled the pie in exactly the same way, only left off the cheese.

To serve, cut the pie into squares or wedges with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce either under or on top of the pie slice.

I thought I was making a lot for the group of people we had, but both pies were gone in about 15 minutes!

The full comida with tamale pie in the center

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