Tamales Vegetarianos

You want to know something? I’m basically the Grinch. I don’t care for the holidays but it’s probably because I’ve been scarred and traumatized from having worked years of retail and dealing with crazy last minute shoppers. I may have even passed along my lack of holiday spirit to my dog, Appa. He is never amused!

I suppose it hasn’t always been this way though. I remember the times when I was young living my carefree life with no bills to pay and no job to work. But those days are just a distant memory. One of those memories I recall is spending the holidays with my familia, we would all get together and my mom would make tamales, ponche, atole and all these other delicious Mexican dishes. Maybe my mind is fuzzy but I am pretty sure it was usually only around the holidays when we would have these foods. 

I remember the first time I had a tamal I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to eat the husk, no one tells you these things! So I of course took a big bite of it with no ability to chew through that tough corn husk. Everyone laughed at me but once I figured out how to eat it, it was delicious! There’s that soft doughy texture of the tamal filled with the savory spicy pork. Yum! 

So after becoming a vegetarian I was unable to partake in those family dinners since tamales are traditionally made with lard and pork. Sadly, I had to give them up…until now! 

I played around with this recipe for some time until I got the right consistency and flavors that reminded me of my childhood. I always assumed making tamales would be difficult but they’re surprisingly easy, they just look difficult because my mom would roll like 10 a minute and she would cook like 100 at a time. 

The recipe is simple. I took all the flavors you would typically find in the tamal but just made a couple of substitutions to make it vegetarian. For example, replace the lard with butter and use a meat substitute. Easy right? 

So I went shopping at the store trying to figure out what I could stuff these tamales with and while in the produce section of my local grocery store I saw these puffs. They are called “pom pom mushrooms” probably because they look like pom poms. I picked one up and picked off a piece, they were soft and shredded fairly easily. I figured these would be perfect to replace the shredded pork traditionally used in the tamales. I gathered all my ingredients and headed home. 

Tamales are not hard to make I would say they’re just time consuming so probably not something you want to make for dinner if you’re in a hurry. We’ll start by soaking corn husks in boiling water for 30 minutes. I like to set something heavy on top of them to weigh them down so they get covered in water. By soaking your corn husk you ensure they are easy to fold and roll and not crack in your hand. While your husks are soaking we can start working on the other things. 

Start by removing the stems from the peppers and shaking out all the seeds. Some people like to leave the seeds in but that’s completely up to you, if you leave them in the sauce will be much spicier. Add your tomato half, onion, cloves, garlic, oregano, a bit of salt and black pepper and water. Let it all boil for about 10 to 15 minutes. You’ll see that the pepper will be more soft and rehydrated. 

Strain the liquid but be sure to save about 1/2 cup of the liquid for later use. Put all the things in a blender and blend it until smooth. You might need to add a bit of water, probably about 1/4 cup or use some of the liquid if you didn’t already throw it all away. Once it is all blended and smooth strain it and set aside. If I’m in a hurry or too lazy to wash another bowl sometimes I’ll strain it straight into the pot of the protein I’m stuffing the tamales with. 

The next fun part is taking all those cute little puffs and shredding them until they resemble shredded chicken or pork. It’s pretty weird but they look very similar. Add them to a medium skillet with a bit of oil and cook for about a minute. Take that yummy sauce you just strained and pour it into the skillet. cook for another 2 minutes or so until the mushrooms look nice and soft. Adjust your seasoning and add more salt if needed. 

Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer beat 2 sticks of butter and 1/2 tbsp of salt until creamy. Then you’re going to add your masa harina and beat it slowly, otherwise you’ll end up with a floury mess everywhere. Once everything is combined it should look all crumbly and then that’s when you add the 1/2 cup of reserved liquid. Beat it until fully incorporated and it resembles a play dough consistency. If it looks too dry or crumbly add a bit more water.

Now, take your corn husk and add a spoonful of dough. It should be about 3-4tbsp of dough per tamal but it just depends on how big the corn husks are and if they can take such a big stuffing. Then you’ll top it off with about 1tbsp of filling, roll it up and fold under the bottom of the husk. Keep going until you’re out of dough and filling. 

Place them all in covered steamer and steam for 40-45 minutes. Careful taking them out because they’re going to be hot, you might want to let them cool for a couple of minutes but if you can’t hold on that long just blow on it a little bit. 

Cover them with your favorite sauce and a bit of crema and you’re all done! For mine I used a salsa verde, the recipe for that will be out soon but you can use whatever you want! Enjoy!

Tamales Vegetarianos

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 cups boiling water

20 corn husks

3 garlic cloves

8 guajillo peppers

3 cloves

1/2 tomato

1/2 onion

2 cups water

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch of salt and black pepper

1tbsp oil

1/2lb pom pom mushrooms, shredded

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 cups masa harina

1/2 cup reserved chili water

1/2 tbsp salt

In a large flat container lay out the corn husks and cover with boiling water. Weigh down the husks using a bowl or something heavy. Let stand for 30 minutes.

Remove seeds and stems from guajillo peppers. Combine in a medium pot with 3 garlic cloves, 3 cloves, 1/2 tomato, 1/2 onion, 2 cups of water, oregano and a pinch of salt and pepper. Boil for 10-15 minutes until peppers look rehydrated. 

Strain from water saving 1/2 cup of liquid. Blend until smooth, pass through and sieve and set aside. Add a bit of water if too thick. 

In a medium skillet add 1tbsp of oil and shredded mushrooms. Sauté for about a minute. Add red sauce and cook for 2 minutes, season with salt and remove from heat.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer beat 2 sticks of butter and 1/2 tbsp salt until creamy. 

Add 2 cups of masa harina and mix until combined. Add 1/2 cup of reserved liquid and beat until play dough consistency forms. Take about 3-4tbsp of dough per tamal and spread evenly on corn husk. Add about 1tbsp of filling and roll. Fold under bottom half of corn husk.

Steam tamales in a large pot for 40-45 minutes. Serve with your favorite sauce and a drizzle of Mexican crema.