| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 30 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 16 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 large white onion, chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 4 leaves kale, stems removed and chopped
- 1/3 cup vegetable broth
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups masa harina
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
- 2 cups vegetable broth, warm
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 24 corn husks, soaked until soft and patted dry, plus more for lining steamer
Instructions
- For the filling: Melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and zucchini and saute until the onion is soft, about 4 minutes. Add the kale and saute 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth, cover and cook until the kale is wilted, about 6 minutes. Uncover and simmer until almost all of the liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool slightly. Season with some salt and pepper. Stir in the cheese until melted.
- For the masa: Mix the masa and baking powder in large bowl. Add the vegetable shortening and mix using an electric mixer until it is the consistency of coarse meal. Pour in the vegetable broth and mix until the dough comes together (the dough should be moist). Mix in the salt and pepper by hand.
- To assemble the tamales: Place a corn husk, ridged-side down, flat on a work surface and spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of masa onto the corn husk. Then place a spoonful of the kale filling atop the masa. Fold the bigger sides in, and then the pointy tip up over the tamale. Repeat with the remaining corn husks, filling and masa.
- To steam, place a coin in the bottom of a pot and fill with 1 to 2 inches of water. Make sure that the steamer basket is not immersed in the water. Line the bottom of a steamer basket with some additional husks and stack the tamales in the steamer, with the exposed end facing upward. Top with more husks and cover with a moist towel. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the masa no longer sticks to the husks, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Cook’s Note: The coin will rattle during cooking. If it stops rattling, all the water has evaporated and you need to add more.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 16 servings |
| Calories | 176 |
| Total Fat | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 27 mg |
| Sodium | 263 mg |
Reviews
Easiest tamales I’ve ever made. It helps the speed that there’s no meat or complicated sauce and it took me less than 2 hours. The filling is amazing. I used pork broth instead of veggie broth cuz that’s what I had on hand.
Did anyone notice the half sick of butter in the masa was left out on this recipe?? On the show she added it but it’s not in the ingredient list or directions here.
Marcela, thank you for showing me tamale-making is not overwhelming, nor scary! You made it so simple and they turned out perfectly. I did use a shredded pork mixture rather than the kale and got rave reviews. I love mexican food and I am so happy you make it easy to cook at home!
This was my first time making tamales of any kind, and I’m happy to report that they came out fabulously! The kale/zucchini/cheese filling is delectable-could certainly stand on its own as a side dish. Some things I would do differently: Soak the husks in hot water and really immerse them-I used cold water, which I think made them less pliabe than they could have been. Secondly, I would spread the masa THINLY and then FOLD it, while folding the husk, AROUND the zucchini filling. I was piling all the masa in the middle, and although it all worked out in the end, it made the tamale folding more challenging than neccesary. Eventually I reread Marcela’s recipe and saw that it said to SPREAD the masa. I almost felt like I wanted to use kitchen twine to secure the tamales, but they cooked up without falling apart. I used my electric vegetable steamer and voila!
These came out amazing. I was intimidated to try to make them on my own but they were pretty easy to assemble. I love the little tricks like the penny and putting a wet rag over the top. I was able to just throw them in and just steam away. I cant wait to make them again. The batch went so fast!