HONDURAN TAMALES

Honduran Tamales image

My fiance is Honduran and no Christmas is complete without tamales. These aren't your regular Mexican tamales, there's more to 'em.

Provided by Sara Blackwood

Categories Meat and Poultry Recipes Pork

Time 2h38m

Yield 30

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

1 (4 pound) package masa harina (such as Maseca®), divided
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup ground cumin
2 cubes chicken bouillon
salt
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
3 cups vegetable oil, or to taste
30 banana leaves
3 ½ pounds cubed cooked pork
3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups cooked white rice
1 (15 ounce) can peas, drained
kitchen twine

Steps:

Pour about 3/4 the masa harina into a large pot. Add water in batches, mixing until a moderately thin batter forms.
Combine tomato, green bell pepper, onion, cilantro, cumin, and bouillon in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into the large pot with the batter and season with salt. Pour about 5 cups of this combined mixture into a smaller pot; add tomato paste and stir until it is an even red color.
Pour 2 cups oil into the large pot of batter; pour remaining 1 cup oil into the smaller pot of red batter. Bring both pots to a boil, stirring continuously to prevent burning. Cook until flavors set, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove from heat.
Cut banana leaves into 12x15-inch rectangles. Spoon 1 cup regular batter and 1/4 cup red batter into the center of each leaf. Add small amounts of pork, potatoes, rice, and peas. Fold leaf over the filling several times; fold sides in. Wrap twine around tamale to hold in place.
Place tamales in a large pot; cover halfway with water. Cover and cook over medium heat until filling has thickened, about 1 hour.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 551.7 calories, Carbohydrate 59 g, Cholesterol 38.7 mg, Fat 26.5 g, Fiber 9.9 g, Protein 21.5 g, SaturatedFat 4.5 g, Sodium 191.2 mg, Sugar 2 g