![Tamales](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/10/26/multimedia/RM-tamales-zhwm/RM-tamales-zhwm-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Tamales
Rick A. Martínez
87 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
87
5 hours 45 minutes
Advertisement
Prepare the gandules: Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add sofrito and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and mixture darkens. Add gandules, vegetable stock, bay leaves and salt, and increase heat to high. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
While gandules are cooking, prepare the plantain dumplings: Grate or blend plantains in a food processor until smooth or shred them finely on a box grater. Put grated plantains in a medium bowl and add cumin, garlic powder, annatto and salt. Mix well with a fork to incorporate. The mixture will be thick and a little sticky, but the natural starch of the plantain will set up quickly.
Return the gandules to a rolling simmer. Standing over the pot, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of plantain masa and put directly into the pot. The dumplings will rise immediately to the top. Repeat with the remaining masa, careful to avoid putting fresh dumplings on top of others, until you’ve used up all of the plantain masa, stirring occasionally to prevent dumplings from sticking to one another.
Once all the plantain dumplings have been added, lower heat and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring gently a few times. Remove from heat, and adjust salt to taste. Serve as a soup, accompanied by white rice, with avocado slices on the side.
I grow recao, oregano and aji dulce in my Brooklyn backyard, and make a lot of sofrito to freeze. Now that it’s spring I’m running out, so I supplemented with an additional onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and half a bell pepper. I also added some tomato paste. Used frozen gandules and homemade veg stock. Achiote in the oil for the gandules, fresh garlic in the plantains. Results? Fantastic! The dumplings taste like pasteles or even alcapurrias. I am one happy boricua:-)
Cook dried grandules in the Ipot (pressure cooker). If you are not vegetarian, a bit of ham adds flavor.
It is extremely hard to make this recipe out of plantain alone. It is common to do a blend of green bananas and plantains. I use 3 to 4 green bananas to 1 good sized plantain and season to taste.
loved it, actually quite simple to make, and agree if you are not veggie add some ham or bacon, I will next time (but I love it veggie too)
My dumplings did not stock together at all, so I had a thickened soup broth at the end.
It's alright but kind of bland. The sofrito smelled amazing when I was sautéing it, but the flavor got completely lost in 8 cups of vegetable broth and 6 cups of peas. The dish just needs way more flavor and some acid too. (Maybe lime juice would help?) My husband and I both thought this dish was pretty flat-tasting. We don't plan on making it again.
It is extremely hard to make the dumplings out of plantain alone. It is common to make these dumplings using green bananas and plantains. I usually do 3-4 green bananas and 1 good sized plantain. Season to taste.
Beans and broth good. Plantain dumplings blah. I won’t make again
Actually a very simple but impressive recipe to make. Delecious soup
I alternate between Florida and Puerto Rico so sometimes I get my grocery shopping expectations confused. For the "bollitas de platano" I use frozen "masa de pasteles" or "alcapurria" that you can find in the frozen section of almost every supermarket in PR or FL, no need to go to a specialty market, or to peel and grate plantains (hate it!) This masa is a tastier and creamier mix of plantains and yautia. Just make sure to squeeze as much water as possible from the masa as it is defrosting.
I was so excited about this dish. The dumplings did hold together but ultimately it just didn’t have the depth of flavor that I was so hoping for.
While I haven’t made this recipe yet, I have to share my excitement to see it! My grandmother would make this for me when I’d visit her every year in Chicago. I wrote it down the last time she made it for me and misplaced it. So thank you for this recipe, I can not wait to try it!
Beans and broth good. Plantain dumplings blah. I won’t make again
It is extremely hard to make the dumplings out of plantain alone. It is common to make these dumplings using green bananas and plantains. I usually do 3-4 green bananas and 1 good sized plantain. Season to taste.
It is extremely hard to make this recipe out of plantain alone. It is common to do a blend of green bananas and plantains. I use 3 to 4 green bananas to 1 good sized plantain and season to taste.
I save my own recao seeds. The originals came from Puerto Rico.
I grow recao, oregano and aji dulce in my Brooklyn backyard, and make a lot of sofrito to freeze. Now that it’s spring I’m running out, so I supplemented with an additional onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, and half a bell pepper. I also added some tomato paste. Used frozen gandules and homemade veg stock. Achiote in the oil for the gandules, fresh garlic in the plantains. Results? Fantastic! The dumplings taste like pasteles or even alcapurrias. I am one happy boricua:-)
Would love to know how you grow recao? How did you get seeds??
It's alright but kind of bland. The sofrito smelled amazing when I was sautéing it, but the flavor got completely lost in 8 cups of vegetable broth and 6 cups of peas. The dish just needs way more flavor and some acid too. (Maybe lime juice would help?) My husband and I both thought this dish was pretty flat-tasting. We don't plan on making it again.
My dumplings did not stock together at all, so I had a thickened soup broth at the end.
how long to do soak plantains? Do you peel and soak them whole?
This is an amazing dish!
loved it, actually quite simple to make, and agree if you are not veggie add some ham or bacon, I will next time (but I love it veggie too)
Cook dried grandules in the Ipot (pressure cooker). If you are not vegetarian, a bit of ham adds flavor.
Advertisement