If you are not Latino or never lived in the southwest, chances are your first tamale was a strange little package, wrapped and tied as a bundle inside a TV dinner. Further, it was probably pale red, mushy and you liked the nearby enchilada better.  

Tamales become gourmet, fusion cuisine in this book, and your ideas for more can be endless. Basically think of a tamale as a house in structure. It has its foundation, living rooms and finally the roof. With tamales the foundation is a corn husk wrapper  lined with masa dough, the living area is the filling and the roof a tantalizing sauce. Tamales can be vegetarian, seafood, poultry, any meat or desserts, depending on ingredients. Tamales, the lined corn husk wrapped around and filling and cooked over steam.   

The masa base for the dough is large-kernel corn which looks like hominy. It is dried, cooked in limewater, drained, dried again and ground into flour. You can also purchase it, then proceed with one of the book’s intriguing flavored masa dough recipes. Some variations include:  

Roasted Corn Tamale Masa Dough
Wild Mushroom-Chipotle Tamale Massa Dough
Red Thai Curry Tamale Massa Dough
Habanero-Blackened Tomato Tamale Massa Dough
plus many more. 

Just a few of the filling and sauce recipes are:  

Wild Mushroom and White Truffle Tamales
Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomato Tamales with Olive Oil and Saffron
Salmon Tamales with Red Pepper Masa and Mole Amarillo
Shrimp Tamales with Ranchero Sauce
Clam Tamales with Fennel and Chayote-Melon
Salsa
Chicken Tamales with Mole Poblano

Duck Tamales with Pineapple and Chipotle

Bittersweet Chocolate Tamales with Anchos, Prunes and Raisins (one of several dessert tamales) 

Apt headnotes identify newly-introduced ingredients and clarify each recipe’s mission. Helpful, too, is the book’s section, Basic Recipes, Sauces, and Techniques. In it they cover such steps as blackening tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, and onions. It also goes into how to process chiles, toast herbs and spices and make delicious stocks. 

Wiley books are available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-225-5945. In Canada, call 1-800-567-4797.

©Marty Martindale, 2004, Largo, FL

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