Kale Tamales

I love cooking dinner for family and friends on Sundays. It's just the best.

This Sunday I wanted tamales. I've never had a real traditional tamale before but I did see Guy Fieri chowin' down on some on Diner, Drive-Ins, and Dives once and I just had to have some.

Honestly, making these was not hard. Maybe a little time consuming but it's a Sunday dinner so what else are you gonna do? Plus, the pay off from eating these is so worth it. Not to mention you can go back for seconds and not feel too bad because you'll never guess the hidden superfood ingredient...

Kale!

Kale Tamales

(serves 16)

Ingredients
- 24 corn husks, soaked until soft and patted dry
filling:
- 3 T butter
- 1/2 large white onion, chopped
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 4-5 leaves kale, stems removed and chopped
- 1/3 c vegetable broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 c reduced fat mozzarella cheese
masa:
- 2 c masa harina
- 1 t baking powder
- 1/4 c vegetable shortening
- 2 c vegetable broth, warm
- 3/4 t salt
- 1/2 t ground black pepper

Directions
filling:
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and zucchini and saute until the onion is soft ~4 minutes. Add Kale and saute 1 minute. Add broth, cover and cook until the kale is wilted ~6 minutes. Uncover and simmer until almost all liquid evaporates ~2 minutes. Turn off heat and cool slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese.
masa:
Mix masa and baking powder in large bowl. Add shortening and mix with held mixer until coarse meal forms. Pour in broth and stir until dough comes together then stir in salt and pepper. May need to add more broth as needed.
assemble:
Place a corn husk, ridged-side down, flat on a work surface and spread 2-3 T of masa on end of corn husk in 4x4 area. Then place a spoonful of filling on top. Fold over so ends of masa meet and fold other pointy end of husk over the tamale and roll. Repeat with remaining husks, masa, and filling.
cooking:
Place a coin in the bottom of a pot with a steam basket filled with 2- 3 inches of water. Make sure steamer basket is not immersed in water. Line the bottom of basket with a steamer cloth, left over corn husks, or a thin kitchen towel. Stack tamales side by side in steamer with open end facing up. Cover and bring water to a medium boil and steam 40 minutes to an hour or until the masa no longer sticks to corn husk.
*The coin will rattle during cooking, if rattling stops then all the water has steamed out and you need to add more.

I served these with grilled corn, Amy's Organic Refried Black Beans, avocado, salsa, sour cream, and chips. Yuuum!

XOXO,
Claire