Mexico is a deeply religious country, and we honour our traditions exceptionally. Such is the case of La Candelaria (Day of the Virgin of La Candelaria, on February 2, otherwise known as Candlemas in English). This celebration comes to us via the Día de Reyes, or Epiphany on January 6. On Día de Reyes, families get together to cut the Rosca de Reyes (3 Kings Cake), which has a figurine of a baby Jesus inside. The person that cuts the piece of the bread and gets the figurine is supposed to host a party on La Candelaria and make tamales. Yes, it's a great tradition, filled with symbolism, but it's also a perfect excuse to get your family (and friends) together again and celebrate with great food, don't you think?
In reality, the person who gets the figurine is torn between excitement (if you're deeply religious, getting the figurine means that Jesus is in your heart) and dread (if you're NOT deeply religious it means you have to make hundreds of tamales for a party less than a month away!).
In my small family, my daughter Alexa seems to always get the baby figurine, except this time I was the lucky one. That means I will be the one making tamales. I don't mind at all, because we LOVE tamales, so much so that even when Alexa gets the baby I’m the one making the tamales. Here in Ottawa tamales are a rare foodstuff, since they are not readily available to purchase as in Mexico or the United States. Over here, we need to make our own. And make our own we do!
Tamales are a bit of a production, and I recommend you tackle the job in phases. One day you can make the fillings, and the next day you make the tamales. I also recommend you make a double or triple batch so you can freeze leftovers - you will be happy to have them weeks later, trust me. This is a perfect weekend project, one that you can enlist your family to participate in. It will be fun and you will spend some quality time together. Unfortunately this year with the pandemic, I will be alone making them, so I won’t be making hundreds, just enough for us to enjoy on February 2.
When you are ready to eat your tamales, serve them with a couple of spectacular salsas, some refried beans and have some crema for drizzling over the top. It is also customary to serve them with some sort of atole, and I favour the chocolate atole called Champurrado. You will be enjoying one of the best Mexican meals ever!
TAMALES De POLLO EN SALSA VERDE
Chicken in Green Salsa Tamales
For the dough:
1 kg fresh masa, or 3 ½ cups Maseca mixed with enough warm water to make a smooth dough
1 ¼ cups rendered lard, softened
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 1/4 Tbsp Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, less if you use table salt or sea salt
1 cup chicken stock
Filling:
Chicken in Salsa Verde (recipe below), about 4 cups, or any filling of your choice
Corn husks for wrapping
Soak corn husks in hot water for 90-120 minutes, weighed down with a plate and a couple of cans, keeping them submerged in the water, until soft and pliable. You can also soak them overnight. Drain just before filling tamales.
In mixer bowl combine lard, baking powder and salt. Set speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy. Add the masa little by little, and then reduce the speed and add the stock. Beat for about 10 minutes and spoon about 1/2 tsp dough and drop it into a glass of cold water. If it floats, the dough is ready, if not, beat a few more minutes. Taste dough for salt and add more if needed. Dough should be heavily seasoned because as the tamales steam, some of that salt will dissolve into the cooking water.
Spread some dough in the bottom half of each husk (away from the pointy end), no thicker than a generous 1/8”. Spoon 2-3 Tbsp filling in the centre of the dough and then fold both sides over the filling. To finish, fold in the pointy end. Secure tamales with string of corn husk.
Place tamales open sides up in steamer basket lined with corn husk scraps . Do not stack tamales. Cover tamales with more corn husk scraps and then place the lid on the steamer. Bring the water to a gentle boil and steam for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the corn husk comes away from the dough easily and the dough is firm. To be able to check this, remove one tamal from the steamer and let it cool for 1-2 minutes before you open it to check. Start checking around the 60 minute mark, but they could need another 15 minutes, depending on the size of your tamales. When they are ready, they will release from the husk easily.
Serve with Salsa of your choice, and if you want, you can drizzle them with crema.
Tamales can be frozen and reheated by steaming or toasting on the comal.
POLLO EN SALSA VERDE
Chicken in Salsa Verde for Tamales
10-15 medium tomatillos, husked
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
3 cups cooked shredded chicken
Wash tomatillos and place in a saucepan with onion and garlic. Add enough water to cover and cook 10 minutes (if using canned tomatillos, omit this step), or until vegetables are soft.
Place softened tomatillos, onion, garlic and cilantro in blender and process until completely smooth. Heat oil in saucepan and add salsa and salt (if using canned tomatillos, you may not need to add salt). Cook for 10 minutes, or until seasoned well.
Mix chicken with enough salsa to moisten, but the filling should not be too moist.
Cool down filling before using it for tamales.
Makes about 24-30 tamales, depending on how large you make them.