Hot Starters: Green Corn Tamales

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram of blended corn kernels (keep the cobs)
• ½ cup of blended cilantro
• 1 medium grated onion
• 1 teaspoon of ground garlic
• 1 tablespoon of ground yellow chili pepper (without veins to reduce spiciness)
• Oil
• Salt, pepper
• ¼ kg of chicken or pork
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• Black olives
• Julienned roasted yellow chili pepper (no oil)
• Corn husks

Preparation

Filling

In a pot, boil the chicken in salted water, and set aside the broth.

Dough

In another pot, fry the onion, ground chili pepper, cilantro, and a little salt in oil; brown well and add the reserved broth. Add the blended corn, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning, until a smooth, shiny dough forms. Adjust the salt.

Preparation

Place two corn husks, overlapped at their widest parts, with a little more than half of one over the other. Put 2 tablespoons of dough in the center; place a small piece of chicken or pork, an olive, a piece of hard-boiled egg, and a few strips of roasted chili pepper in the middle. After adding the filling, cover with 2 or more tablespoons of dough and wrap with the husks as if making a small rectangular package. Tie each tamale with thick string to prevent them from falling apart. In a pot, place the corn cobs, covering them with a little water. Put the tamales on top, cover the pot, and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the husks before serving, and serve hot.