Best Venezuelan Tamales Recipes

VENEZUELAN TAMALES

Steps:

• Add broth gradually to cornmeal in large bowl, stirring constantly until mixture forms soft dough. Knead in oil until well blended. (Dough will be light yellow-orange in color.) Cover with clean, damp kitchen towel; set aside.
• Cook tomatoes, dressing and capers in medium saucepan on medium heat 5 min., stirring frequently. Add chicken and pork; cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• Spoon 1/4 cup dough onto center of 1 banana leaf; spread into 5x3-inch rectangle. Top with 1/3 cup meat mixture, 1 onion slice, 1/2 tsp. nuts, 1 Tbsp. bacon, 2 olives and 1 pepper strip; set aside. Spoon 1/4 cup of the remaining dough onto center of second banana leaf; spread into 6x4-inch rectangle. Carefully place second banana leaf, dough-side down, over filling on first banana leaf; press together gently. Fold over lengthwise sides of leaves, then fold over both remaining sides to completely enclose filling. Tie closed with kitchen twine. Repeat to make 12 tamales.
• Pour 2 cups water into 8-qt. stockpot fitted with steamer basket. (Or, use a tamalera pot.) Line bottom of basket with remaining banana leaves; top with tamales. Cover with lid. Bring water to boil on medium-high heat. Steam on medium-low heat 1 hour or until tamales pull away from banana leaves, adding more boiling water to pan when necessary. Remove from steamer; cool slightly.

QUESILLO (VENEZUELAN FLAN)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Prepare a bain-marie, or water bath, by filling a 9-inch heat-proof container with water.
• Melt sugar in a nonstick pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until melted, 7 to 10 minutes; be careful to keep it from burning. Pour sugar into a flan mold, coating the sides to ensure that the egg/milk mixture in the next step will not touch the container.
• Pour sweetened condensed milk into a bowl. Fill the empty can with milk and add to the bowl; stir in eggs and vanilla extract. Blend well. Fold mixture with a spatula or tap against the counter to remove air bubbles.
• Pour milk mixture into the slightly cooled flan mold. Put the lid on and place inside the water bath; don't let the water go over the rim.
• Bake the quesillo in the bain-marie in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Pry lid open with a knife carefully; continue baking until set, about 15 minutes more.
• Let quesillo cool to room temperature, at least 25 minutes; refrigerate 8 hours to overnight. Slide a knife around the edges of the mold to loosen and invert onto a plate.

TAMALES CON ELOTE Y CHILE POBLANO (TAMALES WITH CORN AND POBLANO CHILES)

Steps:

• Place the corn husks in a large bowl, cover with boiling water, and let soak while you prepare the filling.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat until rippling. Add the white onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until golden, 2-3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium; add the poblanos, stirring well to combine, and cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in the corn kernels and season with cilantro and cook until the moisture has evaporated, about another 3 minutes. Season with salt. Cool thoroughly.
• Fold or beat the corn mixture into the prepared tamal dough, being sure it is evenly distributed. Fill, fold, and steam the tamales, using about ¼ cup of the masa-corn mixture for each husk.
• Serve with a picante sauce such as Pico de Gallo Norteño or Salsa de Tomatillo con Chipotle.