Tamales Cacerola

A layered casserole with a base of "tamale like" corn meal and a topping of ground beef, chorizo sausage, onions, tomatoes and cheese.

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Ingredients:

• Meat filling:
• 1 lb 80% lean ground beef
• 1 12 to 16 oz pkg pork chorizo  
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes and green chilies  
• 2 tbsp instant corn masa flour  
• Tamale dough:
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups yellow corn meal
• 1 cup instant corn masa flour  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter, cut in small pieces
• Toppings:
• 2 cups quesadilla cheese  
• 8 oz queso fresco, crumbled
• 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
• Fresh refrigerated salsa

Method

Cook ground beef, chorizo and onion in large frying pan over medium high heat until cooked, about 5 minutes. Drain off drippings. Drain tomatoes and reserve liquid. Add masa flour to reserved liquid and mix well. Add tomatoes and flour liquid to meat mixture and cook 3 to 5 minutes until flour and mixture thicken. Place 3 cups water in large heavy pot and bring to boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, combine remaining 3 cups water with corn meal, masa flour and salt. Mix with whisk to blend. Add corn meal mixture to boiling water and cook, stirring constantly with whisk for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture pulls away from pan and is very thick. Immediately add half of cornmeal mixture (about 3 1/2 cups) to 18 X 13 X 1 inch jelly roll pan. Add butter to remaining cornmeal mixture in pan and blend. Keep warm with lid on. Spread cornmeal mixture to cover bottom of jelly roll pan, using a wet spatula for easier spreading. Spread meat mixture evenly over corn meal. Working quickly, spread remaining cornmeal mixture over meat to cover as evenly as possible with wet spatula. Top with quesadilla cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until hot; then cut into squares to serve. Or, cover without cheese and refrigerate overnight. Add cheese before serving and then heat until hot. Combine queso fresco, cilantro and green onions. When ready to serve, sprinkle mixture over tamales and cut into 2 inch squares. Serve with salsa.

Notes: Tamale dough thickens quickly. You may substitute chorizo sausage for pork chorizo, but flavor is milder. Add garlic, canned chipotle peppers and salt to chorizo sausage as needed to flavor to your taste. Do not use smoked chorizo it will not crumble in pan.

Number of servings: 16

Submitted By: billanddlois
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