One of the many things I love about Christmas time in Mexico can be summed up in this word: tamales.
Tamales stuffed with pork and red chili peppers, tamales stuffed with poblano peppers and cheese, tamales filled with pineapple or strawberries - they are all delicious!
In northern Mexico, it's very common to see tamales served at parties and gatherings during the holidays. Some families even make them for their special Christmas Eve dinner. So far this December, I have had more tamales than I can count, but I can assure you, I enjoyed every single one. And so did the girls -
It takes a long time to make tamales. The first step involves making the filling, which usually consists of meat in a hot sauce. After cooking the meat and mixing in the salsa, the next part is to make the masa (dough). This consists of corn flour and manteca (lard) that is mixed together until it is light and fluffy - no small task!
After the masa and filling are made, the tamales have to be put together. This is done by taking a dry corn husk and opening it up, spreading the masa on it, adding the filling and folding the corn husk back up. After all of the tamales are ready - and it's not unusual to make 50 or 100 at a time - the stuffed corn husks are placed in a large pot and steamed for several hours. The result? A rich and slightly spicy treat...mmm...good.
Tamales stuffed with pork and red chili peppers, tamales stuffed with poblano peppers and cheese, tamales filled with pineapple or strawberries - they are all delicious!
In northern Mexico, it's very common to see tamales served at parties and gatherings during the holidays. Some families even make them for their special Christmas Eve dinner. So far this December, I have had more tamales than I can count, but I can assure you, I enjoyed every single one. And so did the girls -
It takes a long time to make tamales. The first step involves making the filling, which usually consists of meat in a hot sauce. After cooking the meat and mixing in the salsa, the next part is to make the masa (dough). This consists of corn flour and manteca (lard) that is mixed together until it is light and fluffy - no small task!
After the masa and filling are made, the tamales have to be put together. This is done by taking a dry corn husk and opening it up, spreading the masa on it, adding the filling and folding the corn husk back up. After all of the tamales are ready - and it's not unusual to make 50 or 100 at a time - the stuffed corn husks are placed in a large pot and steamed for several hours. The result? A rich and slightly spicy treat...mmm...good.
- more posts on things I love about Mexico here
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