Black Bean and Corn Tamales
Tamales are a traditional Latin-American dish that have been enjoyed for tens of thousands of years for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 cobs of corn, with husks
1 cup milk
1 cup water
½ cup instant polenta
20g butter
1 cup black beans, drained, rinsed
½ cup grated tasty cheese
1 lime, finely grated rind and 2 tbsp juice
1 bunch coriander, leaves removed
olive oil cooking spray
1 cup chunky spicy tomato salsa
Method:
Remove husks and silk from corn, reserving husks. (Refrigerate cobs to use another time.) Place husks into a large bowl and cover with water. Stand for 1 hour to soften.
Bring milk and water to the boil in a small deep saucepan. Reduce heat to low. Slowly add polenta, stirring constantly until well combined. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes or until polenta grains are soft.
Add butter, black beans, cheese, lime rind and lime juice to polenta. Stir until combined and butter has melted. Finely chop half the coriander and add to polenta mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Place a corn husk horizontally on a flat surface. Place another husk horizontally so base ends overlap by about 5cm. Spoon ¼ cup of polenta mixture into centre where bases overlap. Fold one husk over filling, then fold remaining husk over. Wrap another husk in the opposite direction over husks to enclose filling. Secure with a small toothpick.
Heat a chargrill over a high heat. Spray tamales with oil. Add 2-3 tamales at a time to chargrill and cook for 2-3 minutes or until charred and heated through.
Serve sprinkled with coriander leaves and tomato salsa.
