Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie

This is an easy an inexpensive dish that is always a hit.  However, the first time I made it was one of my biggest cooking flops ever, and one of the reasons that I like to cook by instinct rather that from a recipe.

The Tamale Pie Failure of 2009

In 2009 I was an undergraduate living with a bunch of women in a big, beautiful house.  This big, beautiful house had an even more amazing, big, beautiful kitchen, which I loved.  This house was designed as an intentional community for undergraduate women.  We were to live together as a family while attending school.  This meant sharing meals.  Thus, my introduction to Tamale Pie.  Every week, two of the women in the house would plan the meals for the week and everyone would be responsible for cooking for the house one night a week.  A fool proof plan.  We all knew how to cook, an those with more basic skills had more basic recipes.

Well one week I was assigned Tamale Pie.  I had never eaten Tamale Pie before, never seen it, never made it.  I had no idea what Tamale Pie was, but they assured me it was easy, and confident in my kitchen skills, I accepted the challenge.  How hard could it be?

Tamale Pie is a very basic dish. It is two main layers, the bottom usually consists of taco meat, beans, tomatoes, olives, and any other "Mexican" fillings.  The top is simply cornbread.  Simple and sweet, and delicious when done right.  However, my young student brain over thought the recipe.

I prepared the bottom layer wonderfully, browning and seasoning the meat, preparing the mix ins, it tasted great!  Then I read the instructions that read, "pour cornbread mix over the top and bake."  Ok I can do this, I thought, an quickly poured the dry cornbread mix straight out of the box and onto my delicious filling.   Somehow I thought that the cornbread mix would combine with the moisture from my filling and make some sort of delicious casserole.  IT DID NOT.  That night, being poor college women, we ate a crunchy taco flavored mixture of ingredients, and I was harangued for days about my ignorance.

Since that point, ashamed of my failure, I have set out to master Tamale Pie.  And, since I just heard from my husband that his co-workers were coveting his lunch, I think I have come pretty close.

Tamale Pie can be a basic dish made with typical fillings.  But, it can also be used as a dumping ground for leftovers.

Basic Tamale Pie


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 t. oil
• 1 T cumin
• 1 t. paprika
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. onion powder
• cilantro, 1/2 a bunch chopped, or about 2 t. dried
• 1 can black or kidney beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Olives- optional, I don't prefer olives... just ask my mother...
• 1 package of cornbread mix, AND the ingredients to prepare the cornbread.

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Cook the onion in the olive oil over medium high heat until soft.  Add the ground beef and spices and cook until the beef is browned.
3. Add beans and tomatoes and mix.  Pour into a greased casserole dish.  
4. Mix the cornbread according to package instructions.  (That means add the egg, oil, milk, water, or any other ingredients the package tells you to add!  Do not make crunchy Tamale Pie!)
5. Pour the cornbread over the filling to create a second layer.  
6. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean.  
7. Enjoy!

This weekend I made savory Empanadas, a delicious South American treat.  The filling is a mixture of ground beef, raisins, hard boiled eggs, oregano, green olives (except the ones I made for myself), pine nuts, salt and pepper.  This is wrapped in a pastry shell and baked.  It really is delicious, but the point is, I had extra filling.  I used it as the basis for Tamale Pie with some added beans (no tomatoes this time) and it turned out amazingly!  I encourage you to try changing the recipe around.  Add new fillings like corn, maybe some fruit, and see what happens!  For a really simple dinner you could even just use a can of chili.

Enjoy! and God Bless!