Tamales Tolimenses Recipe

Traditional Colombian tamales are served open-faced. This version uses canned peas to reduce cooking time, lean meat and poultry, and brown rice instead of white rice.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Broth

4 cups (950 milliliters) water
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1⅓ cup diced yellow onion
½ pound flank steak
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

Dough

1½ cups yellow coarse ground cornmeal
2 tablespoons sazon con azafran

Filling

¾ cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped yellow onion
2 garlic cloves
2½ cups chopped tomatoes
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 (15-ounce) can yellow peas, drained and rinsed
1¼ cups cooked brown rice
10 (10-inch) banana or plantain leaves
16 slices large carrot, ⅛-inch thick (about ½ cup)
16 slices small white potato, ⅛-inch thick (about ¾ cup)

Directions

Before you begin: Wash your hands.

1. To a large pot, add water, garlic, cumin and onions and bring to a boil. Add steak and chicken and return to a boil.
2. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes until meat softens and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).
3. Remove meat and set aside. Reserve the broth and skim off excess fat if necessary.
4. When meat is cool, slice into ¼-inch strips.
5. Bring broth to a boil.
6. In a small bowl, combine cornmeal and sazon seasoning. Slowly add this mixture to the broth, whisking to combine.
7. Continue stirring and cooking until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Cook an additional 15 minutes, stirring continually. Set aside to cool.
8. In a food processor, pulse scallions, onions, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper and salt into a chunky sauce.
9. In a saucepan, heat sauce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in peas and rice, turn off heat and set aside.
10. On a banana or plantain leaf, spread ¾ cup dough to ½-inch thickness. Place 3 chicken strips, 2 steak strips and ¼ cup filling into the center. Top with 2 potato slices and 2 carrot slices.
11. Wrap leaf around the filling by bringing the opposite corners toward the middle. Repeat with remaining corners and tie with butcher’s string, if needed.
12. In a steamer, steam tamales for about 1½ hours, making sure the water doesn’t evaporate. Add more water if necessary.

Cooking Note

Sazon con azafran is a seasoning blend that includes saffron. Find it in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. Banana or plantain leaves usually are sold frozen due to their short shelf life. Find them in most Latin markets and online.

Nutrition Information

Serves 8
Serving size: 1 tamale (320 grams)

351 calories, 7g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 70mg cholesterol, 787mg sodium, 43g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, 3g sugar, 23g protein, N/A potassium, N/A phosphorus

Note: Analysis does not include banana or plantain leaves as they are not consumed.

This recipe originally appeared in Food & Nutrition Magazine^®, published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.