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Vegetarian Tamale Pie
![Vegetarian Tamale Pie](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/02/01/multimedia/27apperex-hmpw/25apperex-hmpw-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1large red or white onion, halved
- 2jalapeños, halved lengthwise and seeded (if desired)
- 1poblano or green bell pepper, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 1¾teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), plus more as needed
- 1(28-ounce) can whole plum or diced tomatoes
- 3fat garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
- 2tablespoons mild or hot chili powder, more as needed
- 2teaspoons dried oregano
- 1¾teaspoons ground cumin
- 3(15-ounce) cans black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems (optional)
- ¾cup/135 grams fine cornmeal
- 2tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ½teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1large egg, at room temperature
- ⅓cup/80 grams sour cream or whole-milk yogurt, plus more for serving
- ¼cup/57 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2teaspoons honey
- 2scallions, whites and greens thinly sliced, plus more for serving
- 1cup grated Cheddar (optional)
For the Chili
For the Cornbread
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the chili: Move a rack as close to the heating element as possible and heat the broiler. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Finely dice half of the onion and set aside for later.
- Step 2
Slice remaining onion half into ½-inch-thick half-moons and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Place jalapeños and poblano next to onions, cut sides down. Lightly brush vegetables with oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Broil 2 to 4 minutes, until vegetables are charred on one side. (If the chiles are small, they will be charred after 1 to 2 minutes.) Flip vegetables and broil until the other side is charred, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Step 3
Transfer pan to a rack until cool enough to handle, then stem the peppers. Transfer charred vegetables and any accumulated juices to a blender (or use a bowl and immersion blender). Add canned tomato and ¼ teaspoon salt, and blend to a coarse purée. You can make this up to 4 days ahead, and store in the refrigerator until needed.)
- Step 4
Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Add diced onion and sauté until lightly browned, 6 to 9 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chili powder, oregano, remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and cumin, and cook until spices darken, about 30 seconds.
- Step 5
Add beans and the reserved tomato purée, and let mixture simmer until thick like a chili, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro, if using. Taste and add more salt and chili powder, if needed.
- Step 6
While the chili simmers, prepare the cornbread: In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
- Step 7
In a small bowl, whisk together egg, sour cream, butter and honey. Whisk egg mixture into cornmeal mixture until combined. Fold in scallions.
- Step 8
Spread cornbread topping over the chili, then top with grated cheese, if using. Bake, uncovered, until cornbread is golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot or warm, topped with sour cream and more scallions.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
As always, I'll use Bob's Red Mill medium grind cornmeal. BTW, the cornbread recipe on the bag is outstanding. It calls for buttermilk, but I just clabber milk with lemon juice or vinegar.
Noting some commenters so far report their experience of the cornmeal topping being too little to cover the beans adequately, I wonder if the size of Dutch oven used might be a factor? The instructions say "large Dutch oven". At my house that would be my 7 qt size but that would be too big. So I'm thinking the 5 qt - or 5 1/2 qt size might be more in the range of what is meant by "large" here? That's the size I'm choosing for first try today.
Made this tonight, halved. Everything tasted good but I would double the cornbread next time, it sort of dissolved into the chili instead of being a distinct thick layer like in the photo
Rather than using a Dutch oven I used my 12 inch cast iron skillet. Perfect.
Love pickled jalapeños! Another sub - canned chipotles in adobo sauce. After using one or two chipotles the first go, I puree the rest with their sauce and freeze. Cut off a chunk at a time to add to anything that calls for heat and smoky flavor.
Since I was just cooking for myself, I made a smaller batch of chili, stuffed bell pepper halves with it and topped them with the cornbread. Baked on foil-covered cookie sheet. I did need to cover them for the last five or ten minutes in the oven because the cornbread was getting browned. The cornbread did overflow the peppers -- that's on me miscalculating how much I needed! Tasted great, I had one for dinner and one for lunch at work.
Add black olives and corn for a heartier meal.
Maybe make it in muffin tins & freeze after cooking? (I cooked for 1 for a long time & found muffin tins to be my best kitchen tool: shepherds pie is especially nice!)
The only difference between white and yellow cornmeal is the color of the corn it is made from. Use whatever you have.
The version I grew up with was simply topped with polenta (a.k.a. Cornmeal mush). I still prefer it because the texture is closer to actual tamales.
Proportion of chili to cornbread didn’t quite work for me. There wasn’t enough cornbread to fully cover the chili in my Dutch oven and the cornbread got a little dried out. I will try again but double the cornbread next time. Tasted great though!
I "discovered" pickled jalapenos in the jar during the pandemic when fresh ones weren't available. Now I use them for most recipes that specify jalapenos. For this recipe I put some in the filling, the corn bread and a bowlful at the table. Yummy
Yes to adding black olives and doubling the cornbread—with buttermilk—! My great Aunt who lived in NM used to make this when I was teeny-tiny. Her husband was a sheriff, she was the epitome of “a pistol” and she could COOK. I have some New Mexico green Chile powder from Spice House that I’ve been dying to try that may just put this over the top! Yum!
I have been making variations on this for years. We like to add peas, cubes of potato, or a shredded carrot (often all 3). Adds some flavor and nutrients.
I used a 5.5 quart Dutch oven after seeing the notes and the cornbread recipe was perfect for it without doubling. Next time I’ll add corn! I used pickled jalapeños as well since I always have those on hand. I’ll definitely be making this again!
I didn’t bother with the first few steps. Diced 1/2 red onion, 1/2 yellow onion, green pepper, and the garlic. Sautéed in olive oil in a large Dutch oven, seasoned liberally. Smoked Paprika added depth. Used a can of crushed tomatoes, then doubled the cornbread. Big thumbs up from my kids!
My family loves this dish so much! Don't skip the cheese!
My husband just said this was a great dinner. I didn't follow the recipe exactly. I had a lot of fresh tomatoes and I've been making great cornbread for most of my life. But otherwise, I followed the instructions. It was fabulous.
I used half of the chili for 4 people. If I were going to use all of it to feed more people, I would double the crust recipe. I also added some buttermilk to the crust since it was very thick and not so easy to spread over the chili. Very tasty!
Delicious!! I am lazy so I made it with box cornbread mix (JIFFY brand) and used two small boxes, enough for twelve muffins, and it was perfect!
Made exactly as directed. Really really good.
I made this with Jiffy Cornbread mix (and used an extra half egg, honey, and sour cream to make a mini cast-iron of extra cornbread) and it turned out great! Shredded Mexican cheese blend on top. I chopped up my peppers pre-char and it still turned out good. Used 2 cans of black beans and one of red kidney beans. I used cilantro paste and added extra cilantro into the sour cream topping for added freshness. Might add: scallions, black olive, corn in future, fure roasted tomatoes
I, too, halved the chili recipe but made the entire amount of cornbread. We really liked it! I also added some Trader Joe's soy chorizo to bulk it up a bit. Half the recipe easily made four moderate servings.
Super tasty. Doubled the cornbread recipe as others suggested. Perfect amount. Used Serrano peppers and and a couple of chipotle peppers in adobe sauce in the sauce.
To solve for the too little cornbread issue, I cooked the chili in my 5.5 quart Dutch oven but then transferred it to a 3.5 quart cocette before topping with the cornbread. The cocette would have been too small to cook the chili without making a mess. It was perfect other than having to wash another pot and the pan that I put on the rack below in the oven to catch chili that boiled over (a minimal amount). I used jiffy mix for the dry cornbread ingredients. Delicious!
You forgot sliced olives. Always in a tamale pie
Okay, I made my second iteration of this tonight and it came out great! I added a cup of green lentils to it and canned corn, simmered for about 30 mins (so lentils will cook) then I made spoonbread by damn delicious to put on top. The lentils just gave it more weight and soaked up a lot of the wetness. The spoon bread is softer, sweeter, and extremely simple. Then I put shredded cheese on top! 😁
This was great! The chili is very smokey - def. recommend broiling peppers and onions - it tastes delicious combined with the cornbread and sour cream. I baked it in a large cast iron skillet after reading the reviews - recommended. I used a boxed mix from Trader Joe's instead of making the corn bread from scratch. I used the entire box (with milk and an egg) and this was just the right amount - although probably a little too much if you want a smaller ratio of cornbread to chili.
Double cornbread recipe and I froze half the chili filling. Also added vegan meat and diced green chilies.
I Halved the recipe, used a whole egg anyway in cornbread. In hindsight I would not halve the cornbread since half wasn’t really enough to top in my 2 qt Dutch oven. Loved the charred roasted veggies blended in the chili. Great flavor. Next time I might throw some green olives in the chili too. Served with simple calabacitas. So good!
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