Fish Tamales Recipes

Steps:

• For the seafood stuffing: Roughly chop the shrimp up into chunky pieces. Set a large saute pan over high heat. Add the olive oil and garlic. Once the garlic begins to sizzle, add the shrimp. Saute until just pink, about 2 minutes, and then add the crabmeat. Season with the cumin, paprika and some salt and pepper. Gently fold the mixture together, and then shut off the heat and add the lime juice. Allow to cool. Divide the mixture; you will use one half to stuff the tamales, and one half for the seafood sauce.
• For the tamales: Mix the masa, 1 1/4 cups water, butter and salt into a thick paste. To prepare the tamales, set a corn husk out on a flat surface (double up or shingle 2 husks if they are small or have tears). Add 5 tablespoons of the masa mix into the center of the corn husk. Push the mixture to 1 inch from the side of the husk. Add 2 tablespoons of seafood stuffing to the center. Fold one edge of the husk to the center, and then fold the other side to cover the entire tamale. Fold the ends over by 2 inches and tuck under to hold in place.
• Place a colander in large pot of boiling water, but do not let the colander touch the water. Place the tamales in the colander, cover and steam the tamales for 30 to 40 minutes.
• For the red seafood sauce: First, rehydrate the chile pepper. Place the dried chile in a cup of hot water and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the fennel, onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant, 5 to 7 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine, and then simmer to evaporate some of the wine, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cumin, chile pepper, the water from the chile pepper and the can of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook until the liquid reduces and the flavors come together, about 20 minutes. Blend until smooth with a stick blender, and then fold in the remaining half of the seafood stuffing. Taste and season once more if needed. Serve the red seafood sauce over the crab and shrimp tamales.

Steps:

• For the achiote butter: Mix everything in a food processor until well combined.
• For the corn salsa: Mix everything in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• For the tamales: Cut banana leaves into approximately 12-inch squares and wipe clean with damp towel. Place about 3 ounces of prepared tamale masa in the middle of the leaf and place a piece of fish on top of the masa. Coat the fish with achiote-chile butter then top with another spoonful of masa and spread over the fish to completely encase. Fold the edges of the banana leaf over the fish, making a packet. Tie with a string and steam for 10 minutes. Serve with Corn Salsa.

Steps:

• Place pork into a Dutch oven with onion and garlic, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the meat is cooked through, about 2 hours.
• Use rubber gloves to remove stems and seeds from the chile pods. Place chiles in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. Transfer the chiles and water to a blender and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture, stir in salt, and set aside. Shred the cooked meat and mix in one cup of the chile sauce.
• Soak the corn husks in a bowl of warm water. In a large bowl, beat the lard with a tablespoon of the broth until fluffy. Combine the masa harina, baking powder and salt; stir into the lard mixture, adding more broth as necessary to form a spongy dough.
• Spread the dough out over the corn husks to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Place one tablespoon of the meat filling into the center. Fold the sides of the husks in toward the center and place in a steamer. Steam for 1 hour.
• Remove tamales from husks and drizzle remaining chile sauce over. Top with sour cream. For a creamy sauce, mix sour cream into the chile sauce.