Pati Jinich – https://patijinich.com/sweet-potato-and-black-bean-tamales/
12-16 Tamales
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes
- 1 cup lard or vegetable shortening
- ½ teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 ⅔ cups corn masa flour or masa harina (such as Maseca)
- ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 24 dried corn husks
- 2 cups refried beans*
- 1 cup Mexican crema (optional)
- 1 cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450°F
- Wrap sweet potatoes in aluminum foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until cooked and soft. Remove from oven; when cool enough to handle, cut open and scoop out cooked pulp into a bowl. Set aside.
- Make tamales masa: Place lard/vegetable shortening and ½ teaspoon salt into mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until very light, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add baking powder and sugar, and alternate adding corn masa and the broth. Raise speed to medium and beat for another 6-7 minutes, or until mixture appears fluffy.
- Assemble: Soak dried husks in hot water for a couple of minutes, or until they are pliable. Drain. Lay out husk with tapering end toward you. Spread about ⅓ cup masa into a 2-3-inch square about ¼ inch thick, leaving a border of at least ½ inch on the sides. Place about two teaspoons of refried beans in the middle of the masa square. Pick up the two long sides of the corn husk and bring them together. (The masa will begin to swaddle the filling). Fold them to one side, rolling them in the same direction around the tamale. Fold the empty section of the husk with the tapering end, from the bottom up, to form a closed bottom and an open top. Gently squeeze the bottom to the top to even the filling out. Place assembled tamales as upright as possible in a container.
- Place water in the bottom pan of a steamer, so that water is under the steamer basket/rack. Bring to simmer. Line steamer with one or two layers of soaked corn husks. Place tamales vertically into prepared steamer, with open end facing up. Fill any open space with corn husks to stabilize tamales during cooking. Cover with more corn husks and steam, covered, for 55-60 minutes. Tamales are done when they peel easily from the husks.
- Serve with crema and/or crumbled quest fresco if desired.
*To make refried beans in a traditional way, mash cooked pinto or black beans in the pan with sauteed onion or place in the blender to make a smooth puree to thicken and season.
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Categories: Red-Orange-Yellow Vegetables