Best Spinach Cheese Roasted Pepper Tamales Recipes

POBLANO AND CHEESE TAMALES (TAMALES DE RAJAS CON QUESO)

Steps:

• Place corn husks in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and soak for 30 to 60 minutes. Drain, place on a work surface, and cover with a clean, damp towel.
• Line a heavy cast iron grill pan or griddle with aluminum foil and place over high heat. Arrange poblano peppers in a single layer on top. Grill until chiles are blackened, turning as necessary, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer into a resealable plastic bag and let them steam, 10 to 15 minutes. Peel off skin, seed, and cut them into strips.
• Place tomatillos in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and cook until they change color, about 5 minutes. Drain and place in a blender. Blend until smooth.
• Heat 1 tablespoon lard in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add blended tomatillos and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes. Add poblano peppers and cilantro and boil for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool, about 10 minutes.
• Beat remaining lard in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add salt and continue beating for a few minutes. Add masa harina and baking powder and beat well until combined. Add chicken broth, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough has a smooth and workable consistency that is not too wet, similar to cookie dough. Test if the masa is ready by dropping a small ball of masa into a glass of cold water; if it floats, it's ready, if not, keep working the dough a little longer.
• Select 1 wide corn husk or 2 small ones. Spread about 2 tablespoons masa mixture onto the corn husk, filling it up to 2 inches from the bottom and 1/4 inch from the top. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomatillo sauce and a piece of Monterey Jack cheese in the center of the masa mixture. Fold sides of husk together, one over the other. Fold the bottom of the husk over the seam of the 2 folded sides. Repeat with remaining husks.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Add tamales with the open side up and cook until filling is heated through and separates from the husk, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let tamales rest for 15 minutes before serving.

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM TAMALE FILLING

Steps:

• Begin with the spinach by washing, stemming, and chopping it into approximately 1/4-1/2 inch pieces. Mince the garlic and onions; brush, slice, and chop the mushrooms.
• Over medium-high heat in a *very* large pot (I use my largest Le Creuset) heat the oil. Add the minced garlic and scallion and sauté quickly, stirring, for about 20 seconds (careful not to burn the garlic!).
• Quickly decrease the temperature to medium and add the sliced mushrooms, and allow to sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach, salt, sugar, pepper, nutmeg, and cinnamon. (This step is admittedly the messiest part of making the filling, because spinach is so much larger before it cooks down; I usually add it about a 1/3 at a time to the large pot, stir it and wait for it to cook down a bit, and add more until I've got all of it into the pot. Cover it for about 2 minutes, stir again and uncover, and continue cooking.) Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender.
• Pour cooked mixture into a colander and allow to drain - if you like, you can reserve the juices for making sauce for the tamales after they're cooked or for some other use.
• Lower the temperature to low and add the crema and cotija and continue cooking for 5 minutes, stirring so that it's mixed well and the cheeses do not scald. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• Use as filling for your tamales and enjoy! I prefer to make a simple crema and garlic sauce for these tamales, but a red sauce is also good (although it can overpower the lighter tasting tamales, so you'll want to be careful). Also, although the small amount of salt might not seem like enough when reading through the recipe, remember that cotija cheese is salty - it provides plenty of seasoning to the filling.

SPINACH, CHEESE & ROASTED PEPPER TAMALES

Steps:

• 1. Place corn husks in hot water and let stand for 15 minutes to soften; remove and blot off excess water
• 2. Stir together masa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add spread and mix again. Using an electric mixer beat in enough stock/broth to form a soft dough. Stir in remaining ingredients
• 3. Place equal amounts of mixture on center of each corn husk. Fold in the sides, then the bottom. Place in a steamer basket folded sides down. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 45 minutes to an hour. Best if served immediately with desired toppings