Tamale Casserole

Two back to back Mexican-inspired dishes? This happened to be a complete coincidence! On Saturday Ross and I were wandering the farmer's market on its opening day. We happened upon a booth selling locally ground grains and bread mixes. Off to the side the miller had a pile of recipes, one toting several uses for his cornmeal. The tamale casserole called out to be made...

We unfortunately did not pick up any of the miller's cornmeal at the market, so I was in a bit of a bind. Until I remembered the box of jiffy mix in the cabinet. I poked around on a few recipe sites to see if others had used this cornbread staple for a similar casserole. This is the resultant recipe.

adpated from recipes provided by Home Hearth Grains, and Whole Foods Market

serves 6-8

The Ingredients:
filling
1 lb ground beef, turkey or bison
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) kidney or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup water or broth

tamale crust
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 cup gluten free flour
-or-
1 pkg (8-10 oz) cornbread mix
-plus-
1 egg
1 Tbsp honey
1 cup of milk, sour cream or water

The Process:
Preheat oven to 350

In a large sauté pan, brown meat, breaking up any large pieces. Drain well and return to stove. Add onions, garlic and jalapeno. Saute until the onion is tender. Add beans, oregano, chili powder, salt diced tomatoes and stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for 7-10 minutes. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour and baking powder (or the contents of the cornbread mix). Whisk in milk, egg and honey until just combined. The mixture will be runny. Pour the batter over the batter over the filling mixture.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cornbread is lightly browned and the filling hot and bubbling.

My Modifications:
Is the recipe as written above...but substituting a 1/4 cup of red enchilada sauce (from last week's pablano enchiladas) for the water. For the 'original' recipe check out Whole Foods website.

The Review:
Quick, easy comfort food! As I was adapting this recipe, merging the two I was using as my basis, it dawned on my that this is essentially your favorite chili, topped with a running corn batter crust. That realization opens the door for countless variations. I'm curious to try a spicier, vegetarian version next time around. And dependent upon which cornbread mix you use...it is easily gluten free.

The casserole reheated well the next two days...and was consumed very quickly between the two of us.