Beans and Quelites Tamales | Recipe

A vegetarian alternative to making authentic Tamales. 

Ingredients

• 60g onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 500g quelites (wild greens), or spinach, watercress or 
• any edible green leaf, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 2 cups (340g) cooked black beans, with some of their 
• cooking liquid
• 3 large sprigs epazote, leaves finely chopped
• 1 cup (250ml) water, vegetable stock or bean broth
• 11/3 cups (300g) vegetable shortening
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon fine salt
• 8¾ cups (1kg) masa harina
• 2 bunches of dried corn husks, soaked in hot water until 
• soft, then drained
• sea salt

Region: Central Mexico
Cooking Time: 1 Hour
Preparation Time: 45 minutes, plus 20 minutes resting
Serves: 12

Method

Sauté the onion in a pan with some of the oil, add the chopped quelites (wild greens) and cook until any juices are released. Season with salt to taste and tip into a strainer (sieve). Using the back of a spoon, press the leaves against the strainer or squeeze them between your hands, to remove all excess liquid. Set aside.

In another pan, cook the black beans in the remaining oil, until they lose most of their liquid. Smash with a potato masher. Add the chopped epazote leaves and salt to taste. Set aside.

Beat the stock, shortening, baking powder and fine salt into the masa harina. If it’s too stiff, add more liquid a little at a time. 

Take a corn husk and spread a generous spoonful of corn dough onto it. Next, add a tablespoon of beans at the centre of the corn husk and another of quelites. Close the tamal by folding the sides of the husk inwards and then the bottom tip back over to enclose that end.

Place the basket in a steamer and pour water into it – the water must not exceed the level of the basket. Line the basket with corn husks and place the tamales standing upright, with open ends up, just tightly enough to keep them standing. Lay a few soaked corn husks or a damp tea towel over the top of the tamales before adding the lid, to prevent steam from escaping. 

Cook over high heat for 1 hour or until the dough comes off the corn husk easily when the tamale is unwrapped. Let the tamales rest, covered, for 20 minutes before serving.