Tamale pie is a pie and

casserole A casserole (French: diminutive of , from Provençal 'pan') is a normally large deep pan or bowl a casserole is anything in a casserole pan. Hot or cold History Baked dishes have existed for thousands of years. Early casserole recipes c ...

dish in the cuisine of the Southwestern United States. It is prepared with a

cornmeal Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...

crust and ingredients typically used in

tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tam ...

s. It has been described as a

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may a ...

. The dish, invented sometime in the early 1900s in the United States, may have originated in Texas, and its first known published recipe dates to 1911.

Overview

Tamale pie is prepared with a

crust and typical

fillings arranged in several layers. Beef is traditionally used, but it can also be prepared using other meats such as chicken and turkey meat, and can also be prepared as a meatless dish. Although sometimes characterized as Mexican food, these forms are not popular in Mexican-American culture, in which the individually wrapped style is preferred. Tamale pie has been described as a " comfort-food classic" in the book ''The Ultimate Casseroles Book'', published by '' Better Homes and Gardens''.

Ingredients and preparation

Ingredients that are used include beef and ground beef, pork,

chorizo Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, ...

, chicken, beans, cheese, cornmeal, corn, creamed corn, beans, black olives, onion, garlic, tomato, bell peppers, chili peppers, salsa, butter, seasonings such as

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili ...

, salt and pepper. Standard fine cornmeal can be used, as can ''

masa harina ''Masa'' (or ''masa de maíz'') (; ) is a maize dough that comes from ground nixtamalized corn. It is used for making corn tortillas, '' gorditas'', ''tamales'', ''pupusas'', and many other Latin American dishes. It is dried and powdered into a ...

'', a corn-based tortilla flour. Cheese may be used to top the dish, or inside the pie. The dish is typically baked in an oven. Garnishes used include cheese, sliced tomatoes, avocado slices,

cilantro Coriander (;

and olive oil.

History

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. The dish may have originated in the U.S. state of Texas. John F. Mariani's 1983 title ''The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink'' claims the first published recipe for tamale pie dates to 1911. Recipes for this style of dish were also published before then. 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". 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.

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline, Tamale pies Casserole dishes Cuisine of the Southwestern United States Savoury pies

Overview

Ingredients and preparation

History

See also

References

External links