Cuban Corn Food

CUBAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Pour 1/2 cup white wine into saucepan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
• Stir 2 cups water, 5 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 beef bouillon cube, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and black pepper to pork mixture. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, partially cover the saucepan with a lid, and simmer until pork is very tender, 1 to 2 hours. Transfer pork to a bowl and reserve cooking liquid.
• Heat remaining olive oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chorizo and cooked pork in hot oil until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir onion, green pepper, and remaining minced garlic into chorizo mixture; saute until vegetables soften and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add remaining white wine, olives, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, and remaining bouillon cube; cook, stirring frequently, until flavors combine, about 5 minutes more.
• Pulse corn and 1 1/2 cups reserved pork broth together in a blender or food processor until mixture has a thick and chunky consistency. Stir corn mixture into pork-chorizo mixture.
• Reduce heat to medium and stir masa harina, sugar, vinegar, and salt into pork mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture has a hearty cornmeal porridge-consistency. Season with salt and remove from heat.
• Make a pocket out of one corn husk and fill 3/4 full with pork mixture, leaving a top flap. Wrap another husk around the filled pocket. Fold top flap over the pocket. Tie twine length- and width-wise around the tamale several times so that packet is secure, but has room for filling to expand during cooking. Repeat with remaining husks and filling.
• Fill a pot with 2-inches of water; bring to a simmer. Place tamales upright in simmering water, cover the pot, and cook, adding water as necessary, until filling is hot and set, about 40 minutes. Cool tamales until completely set, at least 3 hours.

CUBAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Soak corn husks in hot water 30 min., placing plate on top of husks to weigh them down.
• Meanwhile, blend corn in blender until pureed; pour into large bowl. Gradually stir in masa harina, butter and enough water to form a stiff dough, stirring until mixture is well blended; set aside.
• Heat dressing and sofrito sauce in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add peppers; cook and stir 3 min. Add meat; cook and stir 5 min. or until meat is done. Cool.
• Place 1 corn husk on cutting board with pointed end facing you. Place another corn husk on top, with pointed end facing away from you. Spread 1/4 cup masa dough in center of husk; top with 2 Tbsp. meat mixture. Press meat gently into masa dough. Fold corn husks over filling, completely enclosing filling; tie with strips of some of the remaining corn husks to secure. Repeat to make 10 tamales.
• Add 2 cups water, cumin and garlic to large tamalera pot. Line bottom of tamalera basket with remaining corn husks; add tamales. Place in tamalera pot; cover with lid.
• Bring water to boil; adjust heat to maintain gentle boil. Steam 1 hour or until tamales pull away from corn husks, adding more water to pot when necessary. Remove tamales from tamalera; cool slightly.

CUBAN GRILLED CORN WITH COTIJA CHEESE

Steps:

• Mix together the sour cream and mayonnaise in a small bowl; set aside.
• Grill ears of corn over medium flame until kernels begin to char, 5-10 minutes. Apply sour cream/mayonnaise mixture liberally to hot corn.
• Place the grated Cotija cheese and salt in a shallow dish. Roll the corn in the cheese/salt mixture until it is well covered.
• Sprinkle the corn lightly with chili powder and cayenne for extra heat!
• Serve with slices of lime.