Vegetarian pozole rojo

This is a recipe I've had knocking around for a while, but never got around to uploading so excuse the lateness. After visiting Mexico last year I kicked myself that I hadn't got around to tasting pozole, a Pre-Columbian soup made from hominy maize. Pozole nowadays (as with a large proportion of Mexican food) usually contains pork, however on occasion you can find vegetarian versions.
A word about the hominy maize used for pozole, it's maize that has been nixtamalised, which involves treating it with an alkaline (usually calcium hydroxide), this helps to break down the components and allows the corn to be made into a dough. The calcium hydroxide also reacts with the corn so that niacin (an essential B vitamin) can be digested. Okay, enough with the science. How does it taste? In itself not of a great deal, but slow cooked with delicious ingredients and it becomes a hearty soup ideally suited to cold winter nights. I used the dry hominy maize, however if you can get the canned variety then that would save an awful lot of cooking time. This is not a recipe to make when you're in a hurry!
There are two main types of pozole commonly made, red (rojo) or green (verde) the name coming from the colour of the sauce, the recipe below is for pozole rojo, and its deep dark red owes its colour to the use of ancho chiles. The soup is served with a selection of toppings, allowing the eatee to customise it to their liking. Excuse the rather poor photograph, I was too hungry to make the food look pretty!

Ingredients
1l of vegetable stock
250 g dried hominy (soaked overnight) 
1 white onion cut in quarts
2 garlic cloves
1 large onion chopped finely
4 Ancho chiles
Olive oil
1 tbs smoked paprika
2 tbp cumin
1 tbs oregano (Mexican if you can get it)
1 tsp allspice
Salt to taste

Toppings
1 small red onion (sliced)
1 handful of radishes (sliced)
1 red chilli finely sliced
1 handful of pickled jalapenos
1 bunch fresh coriander chopped
1 avocado diced
Black olives chopped (optional, not authentic but nice)

1. Soak the pozole maize overnight (if using dried maize)
2. Toast the ancho chiles in a dry frying pan for a minute or so, and then soak in around 100 ml of boiling water (just cover with water) for 15 minutes
3. Once softened, take out the seeds and puree with the soaking liquid until smooth. Leave to one side
4. Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and stir in the herbs and spices
5. Now stir in the soaked and drained pozole and add the vegetable stock
6. Stir in the ancho chile puree
7. Simmer for at least 4 hours, the time it takes for the maize to cook will vary. I ended up simmering it for almost 6 hours. The maize should be tender, but it retains a little bite to it
8. Serve with bowls of the different topping so people can add them for themselves

Tamale Pie

Winter is coming… 
Though I have to say it feels as though it has already arrived here. Returning home from the heat of Georgia (that's the Caucasus Georgia and not the Southern State) I felt in desperate need of something spicy and warming, and after rummaging through semi-bare cupboards for inspiration I came up with a can of pinto beans, a can of kidney beans, creamed sweetcorn and quarter of a kilo of masa harina in addition to an elderly red sweet pepper that needed to be used up ASAP.
Sounds like everything I need for tamale pie!
As a disclaimer, I have to say I have never eaten tamale pie, nor seen it with my bare eyes. I do have however considerable experience in eating tamales and a liking for pies. A quick perusal of the internet threw up lots of recipes all calling for shop bought cornbread mix, which I neither have nor could probably find in my local supermarket, so I decided to stay true to the name and make tamale masa for the topping.

The pie filling itself was a pretty basic vegetable and bean chilli. I haven't included the recipe here as it was a 'throw it all in the pan until it's done' sort of meal. For bulk and extra carbohydrate (It's winter…) I added the remnants of a pack of Israeli couscous (bigger than your average couscous) and a handful of bulgar wheat. Extra beans or lentils probably would have been the more sensible, however as I said, the cupboards were bare.

For the masa
250g masa harina
100g margarine
500ml stock
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt (can omit depending on the saltiness of the stock)

 

1. Put the masa harina and spices in a large bowl
2. Melt the margarine
3. Stir into the dry ingredients, it should look like damp sand
4. Now slowly add the stock, the mixture may not need the full 500ml, the texture you're after is smooth peanut butter on a warm summer's day. Feel free to whisk your masa thoroughly if you have the energy…
5. Spoon the vegetable chilli into an ovenproof dish, add some grated cheese at this stage if you want
6. Put the masa on top, to ensure a good coverage I spooned it on and then smoothed it into an even layer using a sheet of cling film
7. Bake in an oven preheated to 220C for 30-40 minutes, the top should be golden brown and sound hollow when you tap it
8. Eat. It may not be haute cuisine or fine dining but it's just what is needed on a bloody cold night. And because one can never have enough carbs (Atkins diet? Nah…) I added some rice and frijoles refritos just to up the stodge level

Agua de Sandia (Mexican watermelon drink)

I was hoping for another glorious weekend, but after sitting inside all week at work looking longingly out the window and tiring of hearing endless news stories about the 'heatwave' whilst viewing it secondhand, it appears to have ended. At least here anyway, and while no means cold, the sun is cosseted in a thick blanket of clouds save for the occasional few seconds peek at what could be... Ho-hum.

So for that reason my mind started wandering on to means of escape and (almost) guaranteed decent weather. Ah... yes. Mexico and my I-hope-it-happens winter break! I'd bought a watermelon on Friday anticipating a weekend of beautiful weather and balmy days sitting under a tree reading and sipping cool drinks. The Mexican aguas frescas are just made for such a day. I'd mentioned them in a previous post, the most popular flavours being agua de horchata (rice milk and cinnamon), agua de jamaica (hibiscus flower) and agua de tamarindo (tamarind). They can, however be made out of just about any fruit, and agua de sandia, made out of juicy watermelons is, as you can imagine a thirst quenching delight that takes almost seconds to make (plus chilling time). Who care's if there's no sun? The colour of the finished drink will brighten up your day.

Ingredients
1 watermelon
2 limes
Agave syrup (or sugar)
Water

1. Peel the watermelon, cut it into chunks and place in a blender. Some recipes say to deseed it first, but really, do you have time to sit and pick out the seeds? 
2. Blend until smooth
3. Squeeze in the lime juice
4. At this point have a taste, some recipes call for a sugar syrup to be added, but I prefer the natural sweetness of the watermelons. I added a little agave syrup as the watermelon wasn't particularly sweet.
5. Strain into a large jug, and taste again. Dilute with water to your own preference and chill for 30 minutes.
6. Serve over plenty of ice, sit back and drink! Incidentally, I used an ice cube tray I'd previously used to freeze batches of green chilli relish and it gave quite a nice tang. For that reason I think serving the agua de sandia with a sprinkling of dried red chilli flakes would work nicely.

Sikil Pak (Mayan pumpkin seed and roasted tomato dip)

I was looking for something a bit different to make today, and something relatively easy as I'd left it rather late in the evening to think about food. 
I'm planning on heading to Mexico later on in the year, last year's experience has whetted my appetite for more, so for that reason I've been pouring over guide books and mentally planning routes. This time I'd like to start in the south of the country, Maya territory. While I love Mexican food (no really? You'd have never guessed huh?) I'm not that familiar with traditional dishes of the south, and whilst perusing books the name of a dish caught my eye - sikil pak (or x'ikil pak / sikli paak) a Yucatecan dip of Mayan origin. Based mainly on pumpkin seeds (pepitas) with the addition of tomatoes or tomatillos depending on the recipe, it sounded intriguing and delicious. I love sauces made from nuts or seeds, so a dip made from them seemed like a natural progression. Try it, it could end up a regular on the menu! 

Ingredients
200g hulled pumpkin seeds
2 large tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1 garlic clove (unpeeled)
Fresh coriander
Water
Salt


1. Toast the pumpkin seeds, the traditional way is in a comal (a smooth flat cast iron pan) or you could use a dry frying pan. I spread them on a baking tray and put them in a hot oven (I was roasting an aubergine at the time and it seemed a good use of the heat) and that worked fine. The seeds start off flat, but puff up when heated. Keep a close eye on them so they don't burn. Once toasted leave to one side to cool.
2. Put the tomatoes, garlic and half an onion in a dry frying pan and toast. Don't worry about the black patches that appear, that is pure flavour! You may want to keep an eye on the garlic though as it can turn bitter quite quickly.

3. Place the toasted pumpkin seeds in a blender and puree until you get a fine sand-like consistency.
4. To this add the tomatoes, onion and garlic and blend.
5. The mixture should have the consistency of hummous, so add a little water if it's too thick (I don't give measurements, it depends on how juicy your tomatoes are)
6. Taste and add salt as desired.
7. Eat! Muy delicioso with tortilla chips (I had some fresh (but rapidly becoming less fresh as the week goes on...) blue corn tortillas in the cupboard so made some chips out of them

Rose and Cardamom Horchata

It's been a gloriously sunny weekend and yesterday I visited a chilli festival. Amongst the numerous (and delicious) food stalls there was a couple selling aguas frescas (literally fresh waters), those beautifully refreshing drinks found throughout Mexico, Central America and parts of the Carribean. Whilst aguas frescas can be made of just about anything, the three most popular flavours in Mexico are probably tamarindo (made from tamarind juice), agua de Jamaica (made from hibiscus flowers) and agua de horchata which is made from rice milk spiced with cinnamon. Perfect for a hot day.

The agua frescas remind me a lot of the Middle Eastern sherbets (or sharbats), similarly refreshing drinks, made of fruits, flowers and spices, and in particular the agua de tamarindo brought to mind a similar drink I've had at Lebanese restaurants, where the sour sweet tamarind is combined with dates and rose water. 

And that got me thinking... horchata is typically Mexican, but what if it was given an Eastern twist? Or perhaps conversely, what if a Middle Eastern sherbet was given a Mexican accent? Hmm... The end result was a food marriage made in heaven. Simple to make and delightfully refreshing to drink!

Ingredients
1 litre rice milk
2-3 tablespoons rose water
1 cardamom pod 
2 tsp pomegranate syrup (optional but tasty)
2 tablespoons pistachios

1. Pour the rice milk into a large jug. Traditionally for horchata the rice milk is made by grinding rice in a blender with the spices, adding water and leaving to soak before straining. Shop bought rice milk seemed like a much easier option to me!
2. Take the seeds from the cardomom pod and finely crush. Add them to the milk and stir in.
3. Add the rose water - as an aside for this recipe you need proper rose water, not rose essence that is commonly found in the baking aisle of supermarkets and contains propylene glycol and alcohol as additional ingredients. It may be okay for cakes (personally it sounds totally vile to me...), but not for anything that requires rose water (i.e. Turkish delight). I say 2-3 tablespoons, you can add more or less depending on your personal taste. Rose is one of those flavours that can rapidly go from "Yum... this is gorgeous" to "Yech... it tastes like I'm eating perfume!" in a few drops. 
4. Now add the pomegranate syrup, this is optional. I had some in the house and thought it would be a nice addition.
5. Chill in the fridge for an hour or so. 
6. Serve over lots of ice with chopped pistachios sprinkled on top.

Sopa Tarasca

Mexico is a country that I had always wanted to visit, and last year I managed to take my first long overdue trip. I'd timed it to coincide with the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, a holiday with origins in a Precolumbian festival, that is now held on November 1st-2nd. 
At this time its traditional for people to visit cemeteries and decorate the graves of their loved ones.

These celebrations are held throughout Mexico, but the villages around Lake Patzcuaro in Michoacan state have one of the best known Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico. Patzcuaro was the capital of the Precolumbian Tarascan state,that covered the georgraphical area of the present day state of Michoacan. The people of the Tarascan empire were mostly Purepecha, a people that still occupy the region today, and a lot of the food typical to the state of Michoacan owes its origins to the Tarascans.
 
Sopa Tarasca is said to be the original basis for tortilla soup, it is typically made with a chicken or pork stock, so I've substituted with vegetable. It's worth hunting down the dried ancho chillies as they give the soup a lovely rich smokey flavour.

Ingredients

500 ml vegetable stock

500 ml passata
1 large red onion, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
100 g grated cheese (optional)
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 large dried ancho chilli
1 small dried chipotle chilli
2 fresh corn tortillas (if not available, could use tortilla chips)

1. Soak the dried chillies in freshly boiled water for at least 30 minutes, deseed them, tear the ancho chilli in half and keep half to one side (it will be used as a garnish) puree the soaked chillies with a little water
2. Cut the tortillas into strips approximately 1cm wide by 4cm long, fry in vegetable oil until crisp. Drain and keep to one side
3. Fry onions and garlic in olive oil until soft
4. Add vegetable stock, passata, herbs and chilli puree and bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes
5. Ladle the soup into serving bowls
6. Sprinkle the fried tortilla strips on the top of each bowl along with a spoonful of sour cream, and a piece of the reserved ancho chilli

Mole Poblano

I like a challenge. I also find that after a busy week cooking for me is a way to relax... I'm in the process of moving house so with all that impending stress I really need to chill, and what better way than cooking up something tasty. 
Tidying out my cupboards I realised that I had amassed rather a lot of ancho chillies, and after a midweek shopping trip I had acquired some more, plus some mulatto and guajillo chillies. So... what to make with them? I'd fancied trying my hand at making Mole Poblano, probably one of Mexico's most famous moles, or sauces, and best know outside of Mexico as being the 'one with chocolate in' - though chocolate is just one its many ingredients. 
It is a little time consuming to make, but well worth it. I've adapted the recipe slightly, because I didn't have a few of the ingredients. Traditionally it contains peanuts and unskinned almonds. I had neither so substituted cashews, pine nut kernels and some ready ground almonds. The recipe also calls for aniseed, raisins and tomatillos, which I didn't have in the house, so fennel seed, a dash of balsamic vinegar (to mimic the tartness of tomatillos) and some agave nectar for sweetness went in instead.
I also cut a few corners on the technique which would probably incurr the wrath of Mexican grandmothers. The recipe I had called for numerous different steps, of frying in batches, draining oil and then grinding. I decided to split the recipe into three main stages; the herb, spice and nut mixture, the chilli puree, and the tomato, garlic and onion mixture. These can be all made in advance, and then all you have to do is mix then together and cook the sauce down for an hour or so.

Mole Poblano
8 large dried ancho chillies
4 mulatto chillies
2 guajillo chillies
1 head of garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
4 tablespoons of sesame seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds (or aniseed)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
3 bay leaves
1 disk of Mexican drinking chocolate (or 6 squares of dark chocolate - I used some chocolate with naga chilli for additional heat)
1 stick of cinnamon
1 handful of cashews (or peanuts)
4 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (hulled)
2 tablespoons pine nut kernels
3 stale corn tortillas
2 red onions
2 large tomatoes
1 litre vegetable stock
Olive oil
seasoning to taste

Nut and spice mixture
1. Add the sesame seeds, pine nut kernels, cashews (or peanuts), fennel seeds and peppercorns to a heavy bottomed frying pan and toast until golden. Watch carefully to ensure they don't burn

 2. Pour into a pestle and mortar and grind until it becomes a fine powder. Alternatively if you have a coffee grinder do it in there. Much easier!
3. To this mixture add the ground almonds, dry herbs and ground spices. 

4. Toast the tortillas until they are crispy (I put them on the oven shelf whilst the vegetables were roasting - see below), then crumble them into the nut and spice mixture



Tomato mixture
1. Cut the tomatoes and onions in rough chunks, toss in some olive oil and place on a baking tray
2. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves 
3. Roast for around 30 minutes at 200 C until the onions are soft and slightly charred

4. Remove the skins from the roast garlic cloves and blend to a puree.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and taste the mixture, adding sugar or agave nectar to taste








Chilli puree
1. Toast the chillies in batches in a heavy bottomed frying pan for a couple of minutes

2. Once all the chillies have been toasted put them in a large bowl and pour over boiling water
3. Leave to soak for at least 30 minutes
4. After soaking, drain the chillies (reserving around 300 ml of the liquid)
5. Remove the stalks and seeds and put the chillies into a blender
6. Blend to a fine puree with the soaking liquid

All of these stages can be prepared separately depending on how much time you have.


To make the Mole Poblano
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan, once hot slowly the chilli puree for a few minutes
2. Stir in the tomato and onion mixture and simmer. You want it to have the consistency of tomato paste
3. Slowly add the dried nut and spice mixture, and then stir in the vegetable stock
4. Put a tight fitting lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes
5. Add the chocolate, stir and cook on a low heat for 1 hour
6. Season the mole to taste. 

Et voila! It makes around 1.5-2 litres of sauce, and it should keep for around 1 week in the refrigerator. Traditionally it's used to cook meat such as chicken or turkey, but would work equally well with tofu or quorn. It may not be a traditional use, but I think it would be pretty damn fine as an enchilada sauce as well. You can use it immediately, but it's going to taste so much better after a night in the refrigerator letting the flavours mingle...

Tamales go East

I'd made a batch of tamales a few weeks back, and a friend had commented on how they reminded him of a zongzi, a Chinese steamed rice dumpling.  Since then I'd been mulling over the idea of trying to make Chinese style dumplings but using the tamale method, and wondered if it was doable.  A weekend of snow, post holiday blues and an early case of spring cleaning gave me the opportunity. Lurking at the back of my kitchen cupboards was half a bag of ground rice, that, along with leftover corn husks, cashew nuts, dessicated coconut and some baby corn located in the fridge gave me an idea... 

I wasn't sure whether the method would work, but it was worth a try, and the end result would be edible if nothing else.  As it turned out, making the rice dumplings tamale style worked very well, and the filling, while not in anyway resembling what you would usually find in Chinese steamed dumplings (more often than not something piggy) was very tasty. 
So here follows the recipe for rice dumplings tamale style, with a vaguely Malaysian-y filling...

For the dough:
250g ground rice
1 tsp baking powder
400ml vegetable stock
100g margarine

For the filling:
2 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter
4 baby corn chopped (water chestnuts would probably work really nicely as well)
1 medium sized red chilli (finely chopped)
100g cashew nuts (crushed)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 heaped tablespoon of dessicated coconut
1 handful of fresh coriander (finely chopped) 
Soy sauce to taste

20 corn husks  

Directions
1. Soak the corn husks in hot water for 1-2 hours before you start to soften
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling together and put it to one side
3. Put the ground rice and baking powder in a large bowl
4. Melt the margarine and pour it into the rice, mixing well until all the fat is absorbed
5. Slowly add the vegetable stock, you want a fairly loose dough, if you've made tamales before then that's what you're aiming for.  If not, then you're looking for a spreadable consistency (almost peanut butter-ish)
6. Take the corn husks out of the water and pat dry
7. Add a spoonful of the dough mix to the centre of the corn husk and spread out

8. Then add a spoonful of the filling onto the dough and fold, the aim is to make a nice neat little package
9. Repeat the process until you've either a) run out of dough, b) corn husks, or c) patience

10. Place the dumplings in a steamer, and steam for around 1 hour/ hour and a half
11. Then eat! They taste extra nice with a dipping sauce, something like sweet chilli would do.  I made a quick sauce from some ghost chilli relish, sesame oil and soy sauce

Tortilla Soup

Deliciousness in a bowl! Traditionally tortilla soup usually has chicken or pork involved in the preparation at some point. However, it's pretty straightforward to create a vegetarian version, and with all the tastes going on, it would take a particularly picky carnivore to actually notice that anything was 'missing'. There are so many recipes for tortilla soup out there, with the exception of the tortillas (the hint's in the name) and probably the avocado all other ingredients are variable. The addition of ancho chilli gives the soup a lovely deep red colour and an earthy flavour, the chipotle adds smokiness and a little heat.
Before I go on, I should probably say something about my measuring system, or lack of it. Any volumes mentioned in my recipes are approximations. If you use a little more or a little less nothing bad is going to happen. Same with the spices, it's not an exact science...

What you'll need:
500ml vegetable stock
500ml passata or canned tomatoes 
1 onion chopped finely
3 or 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
Oregano
Cumin
Smoked paprika
1 large dried ancho chilli
1 dried chipotle chilli 

Toppings:
1 handful of coriander chopped
1 large ripe avocado
2 fresh corn tortillas*
1 small red onion
Black olives (optional)
1/2 cup of fresh, frozen or canned sweetcorn (optional)
Grated cheese (optional) 
Sour cream (optional) 

To make the soup
1. First off, soak the ancho and chipotle chillies in boiling water for around an hour to soften. Drain (reserving approximately 1 tablespoonful of the liquid) remove the seeds and blend into a paste. Keep to one side
2.  Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil (or a vegetable oil of your choice) until soft
3. Now add the chilli paste, dried herbs and spices and stir a little longer
4. Pour in the tomatoes and vegetable stock, reduce the heat, put a lid on the pan and simmer for 40 minutes 

Meanwhile... to prepare the toppings. These can be put in separate bowls so everyone can help themselves to a little of what they fancy.

5. Cut the tortillas into strips 1cm (ish) wide and around 4cm long, and fry in vegetable oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and leave to one side
6. Using the same oil, toss in the sweetcorn kernels and fry until just starting to go crispy. As an alternative (a tastier but time-consuming alternative), you could roast whole sweetcorn cobs and slice off the kernels 
7. Peel and de-stone the avocado and either slice or chop into rough chunks
8. Slice the olives and red onion finely

To serve:
First add some of the fried tortilla strips to the bottom of the serving bowls and some avocado chunks. Sprinkle in some grated cheese if you want at this stage as well.
Pour in the soup and garnish with more fried tortilla strips and avocado. The additional toppings can be added as desired.

*Note: If you can't get fresh corn tortillas don't substitute with wheat tortillas because you wont get the same taste or texture. You could add some tortilla chips as an alternative, you wont get the same texture but it's better than nothing!  
    

Tamales

I love Mexican food. A passion that started in earnest on my twelfth birthday when my uncle bought me a tortilla press and a 1 kilo bag of masa harina. It may not have been on every young girl's dream gift list, but in those days (back in the last century) northern England was not exactly a mecca for exotic foods. I am not sure where my uncle managed to find the masa harina from, but to me it was like a bag of gold dust, and it stands out years later, as being one of my most memorable presents ever...
 
Tamales were always the Holy Grail of food items I wanted to try. They looked so wonderful, these little packages of joy. I had considered making them myself but was put off by tales of how complicated it was. Also, having never eaten a tamale and unlikely to come across one in the near future I put it to the back of my mind, until a couple of months ago when I travelled to Mexico and got to taste them. The first thing I did when I returned home was to hunt down some corn husks and masa harina. 
 
Do not listen to the naysayers who claim it's difficult. Sure, it may be time consuming if you're making enough to feed a small village, and if you're making a meat filling that may up the complication factor somewhat. But the actual process? Simple. These took around 3 hours from start to finish, which also included time out to try and find something to use as a steamer. 

Tamales de elote con queso (makes enough for around 20) 

Dried corn husks - soak them in hot water for at least 1 hour prior to use (the packet I bought said 15 minutes, but after 4 hours of soaking they still had the texture and pliability of cardboard...)

For the masa:
250g masa harina
100g margarine
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp cumin
500ml stock  

For the filling:
350g sweetcorn
1 handful of fresh coriander
80g soft cheese (i.e. one of the mini tubs)
Chopped green chilli to taste (I used some frozen homemade green chilli salsa)
Mix everything in a blender, you still want it to have some texture and then leave to one side while you make the masa

Making the masa:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl

2. Melt the fat – most recipes talk about whipping the fat (usually lard) I don’t have a food processor, and in sub zero temperatures the thought of manually trying to whip up semi-solid margarine is not appealing. Doing it this way gives the same results taste and texture wise

3. Pour the melted fat into the dry ingredients and mix in well, the mixture should have the texture of breadcrumbs

4. Slowly add the stock. The final amount will depend on various factors so it’s easier to add it in small quantities. You’re aiming for your masa to have the texture and consistency of smooth peanut butter on a warm-ish summer day. It will probably take 400-450ml, but I sometimes find if the mixture starts to stiffen up I can add a little bit more as I go along.

5. Whisk the masa thoroughly. You could use a blender or a hand whisk if you want, vigorously stirring with a fork works just as well

6. Take the corn husks out of the water and pat dry, and get all the other ingredients within easy reach. This is probably the most time consuming aspect, but I find it quite relaxing, especially if you stick on some good music*

7. Add a dessert spoonful of masa to the corn husk. A handy hint to spread it out easily (rather than use the back of the spoon and get it stuck everywhere) is to tear off some plastic wrap and use that to smooth down the masa.

8. Add a spoonful of the filling

9. Fold, the aim is to make a neat little package, tear off some strips of corn husk to tie around the tamales if you want. Yes, I am aware that mine aren't that neat, but like all bad cooks I will blame the ingredients. Cardboard corn husks... hmm

10. Repeat, until you run out of a) corn husks, or b) masa

11. Put the tamales into a steamer and steam for around an hour/hour and a half. Don't worry if you have to cram them in, they seem to be very forgiving! 

12.  After an hour you can take one out and check it. You want the tamale to peel away from the corn husk easily

And eat! 

*These tamales were brought to you by King Crimson - Red