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Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie

Michael Kraus for The New York Times

This is Tex-Mex comfort food at it's finest and has very little to do with actual tamales.

Recipe adapted from

NYT Cooking
Overall rating from Tomahto users

Ingredients

For the Filling

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
  • 1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans, or cook your own.
  • 1 cup corn kernels, thawed if frozen
  • 1 cup tomato purée
  • 1 cup beef or chicken stock
  • 2 jalapeños or ½ cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ tablespoon cacao or unsweetened chocolate powder
  • 1½ teaspoons salt, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

For the Pone

  • ¾ cup cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • ⅓ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps

For the Filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 425℉/218℃.
  2. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter or olive oil.
  3. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high.
  4. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the peppers and sauté until the onions are translucent and the peppers are tender (~3 mins).
  6. Add the beef and cook until well-browned (~10 mins).
  7. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (~1 min).
  8. Add the beans, black pepper, chili powder, chocolate, corn, cumin, and salt.
  9. Stir in the stock and tomato sauce.
  10. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has mostly evaporated (~15 mins).
  11. Taste, adjust seasonings (use soy sauce instead of salt for added umami), and reserve.

For the Pone

  1. Add the baking powder, cornmeal, flour, salt, and sugar to a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine.
  2. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Add the milk and oil and whisk again.
  3. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined.

Assemble and Cook

  1. Evenly distribute the meat mixture across the bottom of the casserole dish and cover it with the cornbread topping.
  2. Bake until the topping is brown ~20-25 mins.

To Serve

Serve in bowls and garnish with any or all of the following:

  • A dollop of sour cream or whole yogurt
  • Mexican cheese (e.g. cotija, queso fesco, etc.), feta, or cheddar
  • Fresh cilantro, chopped
  • Pickled jalapeños
  • Ripe avocado, cubed
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Scallions, sliced thin

Pro Tips

  • You can transfer the cornbread topping mixture to a plastic bag, cut a corner off, and use it as a piping bag for better coverage control.
  • The topping may soak into the meat mixture a bit, but it will rise during baking to form a layer of cornbread.

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