Lucy’s Tamale Sauce

• 1/2 C. roasted pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 C. roasted sesame seeds
• 4 oz. New Mexico chiles, dried and soaked (use California chiles if you want milder sauce)
• 4 oz. chili ancho (optional), dried, and soaked
• Large can tomatoes (add more if needed)
• veggie broth
• 1/2 C. olive oil

Remove seeds from chiles and discard; boil peppers in water for five to ten minutes. Grind the pumpkin and sesame seeds very finely.  Add to blender with chiles, olive oil, tomatoes. Blend well with enough veggie broth to taste, about 1-2 cups. Pour mixture into a saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes on low. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The true Guatemalan tamales call for banana leaves, which you can find in a Mexican grocery in the freezer department.  If you do not have such a grocer, you can use parchment paper encased in aluminum foil. The traditional corn husks can also be used; they are shown here because I did not have time to get to the specialty grocers, tied with string.  The exterior is just to hold all the goodness together and is not mandatory, but it is better to use the traditional coverings if you can find them.  Use whatever you can find because it all works just fine.  For the traditional Guatemalan tamales, the masa is cooked, but it is not necessary to do so.  I mixed the Masa in a large stockpot, along with the veggie broth and olive oil, and it turned out great. The consistency is like a fluffy cookie dough. If you do decide to cook the masa, I would suggest using a large wooden dowel because it can bend other utensils.

Making the Masa

• 5 lbs. masa
• 1 cup olive oil
• pot of boiling veggie broth to mix with masa, cooled slightly

Put some of the veggie broth into a large pot to mix.  Add the masa and the oil, along with the veggie broth, alternating and stirring until the mixture is like fluffy cookie dough. When the mixture is cooled and ready, form into small patties, add the filling and top with tamale sauce.  Cover with masa and fold into softened corn husk (washed and soaked for 30 minutes, then drained), folding the ends like a package. Tie with string.  Place into a large cauldron with a steamer in the bottom and water to the top of the steamer basket.  Cover with wet towels and steam on medium heat (turn down in necessary) for 90 minutes.

For the alternate filling, I used black beans, garlic, corn and green chiles with some of the tamale sauce, but I now have Lucy’s recipe for spinach and corn filling that I will try next time. Make the tamale sauce a day ahead, or buy prepared sauce if time is short.  The whole process was simple and not nearly as messy as I expected; I just cleaned up as I went along. It is a little time consuming. I would suggest making the sauce one day and then the masa and the assembly another. It took me over two hours to assemble them, but it left me enough for about 40 tamales, which will keep me stocked up for months.  (Well, for weeks, anyway. I really love these!)

Guatemalan Filling

• 1 green olive
• 1 pitted prune
• 2 blanched whole almonds
• cooked carrots and potatoes (optional)

Mexican Filling

• 2 bunches spinach
• fresh corn
• chiles (Ortega (mild) or Anaheim (spicy)
• roasted red peppers, cut into strips
• pinch episote (optional)

Wash, drain, and chop the spinach.  Remove corn from 2 or 3 stalks of corn. Clean and de-seed the chiles, wash and chop. Mix together and fill into the masa, using tamale sauce to cover. Lucy calls the Anaheim chiles “Fullerton” chiles after living in Southern California for awhile. It is all O.C. (Orange County)!

Serve them with fresh salsa and a salad, beans, or rice for a full meal. They can be reheated in the microwave easily, and transport well for lunchboxes or for taking to a potluck.  Best of all, they are usually very well received, because not everyone is willing to take the time to make them. I had two relatives here asking for them before they were done steaming, and they were Asian, Caucasian and omnivores!  They are great for parties because they can be made ahead and seem to please every taste.