Join me for Merienda: Jess' 2 Kinds of Sweet Tamales: Almond,Pepita and Mulberry & Walnut/Sunflower, Fig and Cinnamon

Saludos Amigos!

You have entered Jess' Sweet Tamale Town. I hope that you enjoy your stay and of course, enjoy the food.

I was making corn tortillas from masa the other day and seeing as how simple that was; decided that I would try to make Sweet Tamales. I knew I wasn't going to make the traditional Mexican style Tamales because I didn't have any dried corn husks, but I did have banana leaves in the freezer. I don't consider this some kind of 'Nu-Asian' or 'fusion' cuisine because people in the Philippines do make Tamales wrapped in Banana or Palm Leaves.

This is a very easy snack to put together and the most time consuming thing is probably the time it takes to steam them, which is about 30 to 40 minutes depending on what kind of steamer that you're using.

Gracias por su ayuda!!!

Maseca! If you don't have the luxury of being able to purchase freshly made masa from a tortilla factory or local Latino market; the next best thing is to use Masa flour, also sometimes known as 'Maseca.' It's very easy to work with as you only need to add water and a pinch of salt to create your masa.

I only took photos of the batch that I made with the wild mulberry jam, almonds and pepitas; so those will be the ones that you see below. Once you have mastered this recipe; you can let your creativity run wild and come up with some really wonderful combinations for yourself. Right now, I'm thinking of making a batch of Chocolate Tamales; so that will be another interesting time in the 'lab.' ;p

Jess' Sweet, Almond, Pepita and 

Fresh Mulberry Jam Tamales-V,GF

Yields around 8 Tamales

Prepare your Steamer of choice

Ingredients:

*Freshly made Masa  for 8 Tortillas (Prepared according to the instructions on the package of the Maseca)

1/2-3/4C Organic Unrefined Sugar

Pinch Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

1/2 C coarsely ground almonds

Handful or two of organic pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 C Fresh Mulberry Jam

Pinch of Nutmeg

1tsp Baking Powder

4-5 Tb Organic Ground Flax Meal

1/3 C Neutral Oil such as Canola or Grapeseed Oil

Banana leaves cut into appropriately sized squares. Washed, dried and then oiled on the filling side.

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Jess' Sweet,Fig, Walnut/Sunflower Seed 

and Cinnamon Tamales-V,GF

Yields around 8 Tamales

Ingredients:

*Freshly made Masa  for 8 Tortillas (Prepared according to the instructions on the package of the Maseca)

1/2-3/4C Organic Unrefined Sugar

Pinch Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

1/2 C coarsley chopped Walnuts or  Organic Whole Shelled Sunflower Seeds

1/2 C Organic Fig Preserves or chopped reconstituted dried figs

1 tsp Cinnamon

1tsp Baking Powder

4-5 Tb Organic Ground Flax Meal

1/3 C Neutral Oil such as Canola or Grapeseed Oil

Banana leaves cut into appropriately sized squares. Washed, dried and then oiled on the filling side.

*I was just talking to my brother and asking him what a good substitute for masa would be (for those who want to avoid corn) and he said that he thinks that Amaranth flour might be a good substitute. I think it could work because Amaranth has a nutty and earthy flavor.

Method:

This is a very quick recipe if you have everything ready to go, especially the steamer and the banana leaves.

In a big bowl mix all ingredients together, being sure that all ingredients are evenly distributed. I like to add in the jam/preserves, once the dry ingredients have been mixed in because it seems to mix more evenly that way. Add about 2 to 3 tablespoons worth of filling in each Banana leaf. You want to wrap it as neatly snugly as possible without squeezing the filling out.

Banana leaf that has been washed, dried and oiled.

Homemade Wild Mulberry Jam. 

This is what the masa mixture looks like before I add in the Wild Mulberry Jam.

The Wild Mulberries have come to town!

Mulberry Jam has been evenly distributed throughout the masa.

Masa that has gotten the banana leaf wrap treatment and is waiting for the sauna

This recipe should yield around 8 tamales, but it depends on how big or small you've decided to make them. If you have any leftover filling; no worries, just use oil small oven safe ramekins and fill those in and steam those separately from the banana leaf wrapped tamales for the same amount of cooking time.

I start from the edge and then roll it up and then tuck in the two ends underneath.

You don't really need to oil your steamer basket; if you have a liner in there, but you might want to just lightly oil it just to be sure that nothing sticks.

I arrange them evenly  in the basket and then I set the timer for 30 minutes.

I use an electric steamer because it's more energy efficient and much easier to heat and clean up as opposed to the stove top version, but you can use whatever you have. However, if you have the money to invest in a premium rice cooker/steamer; I would highly recommend buying one. I cook so many things in my cooker/steamer, way beyond just rice and steaming vegetables and dumplings. There will probably be a future post about electric steamers, but let's get back to to the tamales!

Serving:  You can serve them as is, but if you're plating them I would open up the Tamale leaving the Banana leaf underneath it and slicing it on the bias in 3 or more sections and then topping it with more Preserves or fruit.

Naked tamale fresh out of the steamer.

Dressed tamale with more of the homemade Wild Mulberry Jam.

Storing: If you plan to eat them within a few days, I would store them in an air tight container in the fridge, but if it's any longer than a week; you should individually wrap them and freeze them in a zip top bag. Always label and date whatever you're freezing . To reheat them from the freezer, I would put them in the steamer for 15-20 minutes.

I shared both kinds with a friend the other day and they tasted just as good from the freezer as they did when they were freshly steamed for the first time.

So, that is all from Jess' sweet tamale town for now. Perhaps in the future there will be a visit from Jess' savory tamale town, but in the meantime; please do, give the sweet tamales a try and let me know what you think of them.

Wishing you all good health and happy cooking!

Love,

Jessica