New seasons mean new foods, new flavors. I have been meaning to try a tamale pie after I read a recipe on the Bon Appetit website, so this past week I went for it. I based my recipe on the B.A. recipe, but made it my own in my own fresh and delicious ways. I had the afternoon to myself in the kitchen, and thank goodness for a stocked pantry! I cranked up my tunes, got my bare feet ready to dance in the kitchen, and got to making my Polenta Tamale Pie.
Polenta Tamale Pie
1 lb ground free-range turkey
1/2 red or yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red/yellow/orange bell pepper, chopped
1 1/2 TB chili powder
1 TB cumin seed, toasted and ground
1 1/2 c cubed fresh tomato (1 can unsalted diced tomato can be used)
2 ears sweet corn, kernels cut from the cob (or 1c frozen)
1 1/2 c cooked black beans (1 can low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed can be used)
1c vegetable broth
1/2 c fresh cilantro, chopped and divided
2 1-lb rolls prepared polenta, sliced into 1/3 inch slices (15 slices per roll)
1-1 1/2c grated pepper jack cheese
In a large frying pan, saute the turkey over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Transfer the meat to a bowl, keeping juices in the pan. Return pan to heat. Add onions, garlic and pepper. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add meat, spices, tomato, beans, corn and broth to the pan and simmer until broth reduces, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in half of the chopped cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spray your favorite 3 qt baking dish (about 9 x 15 x 3) with non-stick cooking spray. Layer half of the polenta slices on the bottom of the pan (3 slices by 5 slices laid perfectly in my pan). Layer the bean and meat mixture over polenta. Evenly sprinkle on half of the cheese, followed by the rest of the polenta slices, then the rest of the cheese. At this point you can cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake freshly assembled pie, uncovered, until heated through and sauce bubbles, about 35 minutes. If pie was refrigerated, bake covered with foil for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake until heated through, about 35 more minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the cilantro on top before serving!
I happened to have 2 rolls of polenta on hand, but if you don't, try making your own polenta to layer on the top and bottom of the pie! Yum!
This was a sure hit at my house. It made for excellent left-overs and the fact that I had the option of making it a day ahead of time made it an option for middle-of-the-work-week dinners. I felt good about serving this because it was made with a free-range meat that was lean and low in saturated fats and cholesterol, no added oils to cook in the entire recipe, and it wasn't overly cheesy like some hotdishes can get. It wasn't a greasy Mexican meal that would leave me over-full and wishing I had eaten less. It was full of flavor and was quite satisfying-enough to satisfy the burger-loving man of the house (he didn't know it was turkey until I told him, so contrary to popular belief, ground turkey is full of great flavor if you get a quality meat).
Whew. Done with my nutrition analysis! I was just really excited to have a healthful meal that had BAM to it. The accompanying margarita had some BAM to it too. De-lish.
So let's raise our forks full of hotdish and our margarita glass to the coming end of summer; to that awesome in-between time before fall is in full swing passing quickly to early winter; to transition.
Cheers!
Annie
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