Chicken and Spinach Tamales

Chicken tamales tend to have either a ton of chili powder or green olives in them.  I didn't want either.  What I really wanted to put in them was charred poblano chilis, but I have only so many antihistamines in the house.  So I ended up using spinach for the green and panela for cheese.  Feta was considered, but that would make an odd combo, Mexican and Greek.

Yes, tamales are scary for a lot of people.  I made them on a day off, so it wasn't four hours straight in the kitchen.  I put on the chicken, went out shopping, then made the masa while it was cooling enough to shred.  Once all that was cleaned up, I made the filling and wrapped them.  Then there's 90 minutes waiting for them to cook.  This is not all active time.  The kitchen was clean and I was bored long before they were done.  And it's a small enough batch to fit in whatever large pot you use for pasta or soup.  So, while you can't make these in half an hour after work, they are not a big deal for a day-off dinner.

1/4 C shortening
1/4 C butter
*2 C masa harina (corn flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
2 tsp cumin, divided
2 tsp chili powder, divided
2-1/2 C chicken broth or water, divided
2 Tb olive oil
*1 C red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
*1-1/2 C frozen spinach
1-1/2 C shredded chicken
4 oz panela or other crumbly cheese
*20-24 corn husks

1.  If cooking the chicken from scratch, simmer 1 large chicken breast in water to cover for 90 minutes.  Drain (save the broth!), allow to cool until you can handle it, and shred the chicken with your fingers. That should give you at least as much chicken as you need for the recipe.

2.  In a large bowl or roasting pan, pour boiling water over the corn husks.  Allow to sit in the hot water for at least 1 hour, to soften.

3.  In the stand mixer, beat together shortening and butter with the paddle until smooth.  Separately, stir together masa harina, baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp chili powder.  Stir in 2 C of broth until mixture is moistened.  Scrape down mixer, add masa paste, and beat until uniform.

4.  To make the filling, heat oil in a medium skillet.  Add onion, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin, and 1 tsp chili powder.  Once onion softens, add spinach and chicken.  You don't need to defrost the spinach first.  Add remaining half cup of broth.  Cook until heated through, then remove from heat.

5.  Now you're ready to assemble the tamales.  Lay out a husk on your work surface, pointy end down.  Smear 3 Tb of masa paste in the middle of the upper half of the husk.  Add a heaping tablespoon of chicken filling and about a teaspoon of crumbled cheese.  Fold in the sides to cover the filling, then fold up the pointy bottom.  If your tamales aren't staying shut, tear off a strip of husk and use it to tie the package shut.

6.  Arrange tamales in a steamer basket or colander and set in a large pot over a couple of inches of simmering water.  Cover and allow to steam 90 minutes, checking every half hour to make sure the pot hasn't boiled dry.  Tamales are done once the masa has set.  If it's still sticking to the husks, give them another 15 minutes.

7.  Serve hot, with salsa and/or sour cream if desired.

Makes 20-24

Difficulty rating :-0