Good evening and welcome back to our virtual table here at WFD! As luck would have it I realized this post would be in time to share some Mexican-inspired recipes for Cinco de Mayo. It also turns out I did a post a few years back that was on Cinco de Mayo and it too featured a tamale pie! Hah! So this year I give you a skillet version that uses ground turkey instead of beef as well as the red lentil chili I teased a few weeks back;)
What’s for Dinner? is a Saturday evening get-together where friends share recipes, talk about good food and help others answer culinary questions.
We welcome you to our virtual table every Saturday evening 4:30 PT/7:30 ET. If you would like to write a post for an upcoming date just send a message to ninkasi23!
First, the red lentil chili! I mentioned this dish a few weeks ago in this WFD and as I noted it is a recipe from Mostly Plants 101 Delicious Flexitarian Recipes from the Pollan Family. I like this cookbook because while I am not a vegetarian, I do want to reduce my meat consumption. Chili is an easy dish to turn vegetarian as are a lot of stews and soups in my opinion because you can build flavor with lots of aromatics and hearty beans, legumes, or grains.
Red Lentil and Bean Chili
Bowl of red lentil chili with avocado and cilantro garnish.
Seasoning Mix:
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Chili:
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 2 cups chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and drained
- One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed, or 1½ cups cooked black beans
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One 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1½ cups cooked kidney beans
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Kosher salt
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Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
2. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the grapeseed oil until shimmering. Add the onion and sauté for 1 minute. Add the bell pepper, carrots, and celery. Sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeño pepper and sauté for an additional minute. Add the tomato paste and seasoning mix and stir well to incorporate. Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, soy sauce, and bay leaf and stir well.
3. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Stir in the lentils and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are just tender, 15 to 17 minutes.
4. Stir in the beans and simmer the chili, partially covered, for an additional 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Ladle the chili into individual bowls. Serve hot, with rice or tortillas and the toppings of your choice.
— Pollan, Tracy; Pollan, Dana; Pollan, Lori; Pollan, Corky. Mostly Plants (p. 88). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
So delicious! And of course it only tastes better as leftovers;)
Now the tamale pie. I think there are lots of variations on this dish out there but since I love using my cast iron skillet this one will go on our list of favorites.
from Cookies & Cups
Skillet of lots of leftovers!
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cup grated Mexican style cheese, divided
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 (15.25 ounce) can corn, drained
- 1 (4.5 ounce) can green chiles drained
- 1 (1 ounce package) taco seasoning
- 1 (8.5 ounce package) corn muffin mix
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 10 ounces red enchilada sauce
- lettuce, tomato, avocado, sour cream as desired for toppings.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C
- Coat a 10- inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine 3/4 cup cheese, milk, egg, corn, green chiles, taco seasoning and muffin mix. Stir until combined.
- Spread this mixture into the prepared skillet and bake for 15 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Meanwhile in another skillet cook the ground turkey on medium heat until it’s done and no pink remains. Add in the black beans and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Add the enchilada sauce to the mix and stir to combine. Remove from the heat until ready to use.
- When the corn muffin mixture is set use a fork to liberally poke holes across the entire surface. Pour the turkey mixture on top of the corn.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately with sour cream, avocado, tomato and lettuce, if desired.
For those of you into history tidbits here is some from Wikipedia:
Tamale pie was invented sometime in the early 1900s in the United States, and around the mid-1910s the dish was included in the curricula of some home economics classes in U.S. high schools.[6] The dish may have originated in the U.S. state of Texas.[2] John F. Mariani's 1983 title The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink claims the first published recipe for tamale pie dates to 1911.[8] Recipes for this style of dish were also published before then.[6] The 1899 book The Capitol Cook Book, published in Austin, Texas, included a recipe for a similar pot pie prepared with a wheat flour crust on the top of the dish, and the 1905 book The Times Cook Book #2, published by the Los Angeles Times, included a recipe for a casserole with "cornmeal crusts above and below".[6] Another cookbook published around the time of World War I has a tamale pie recipe, stating that the dish can be utilized to save wheat.[6]
I know there are some good YouTube videos for tamale pie as well as tamales. You can enjoy some history with The History Guy here:
Max Miller’s Tasting History covers it too along with a recipe:
What’s for dinner tonight is Pioneer Woman’s Broccoli Cheese Baked Potatoes. What’s cookin’ at your place?
