Three Sisters Tamale Casserole

2011-11-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

Bubble, bubble, toil and casserole?

In my continuing quest for comforting vegetarian main dishes, I happened upon a casserole cookbook at my local library. A casserole that peaked my interest was a tamale casserole, but there was a big problem inherent in the recipe in that it had cheese and ground beef in the same recipe. Keeping a kosher-style home means that is against the rules, but it sounded so good I had to try and make it work. Exchanging beef for zucchini and adding a few spices to enhance the flavor of the veggies made the recipe something I could enjoy at home.

Enter what I like to call Three Sisters Casserole.

Nom nom nom

I'm calling it Three Sisters because of the ingredients in it - Zucchini, Corn and Beans. Squash, maize and climbing beans are considered the Three Sisters of Native American agricultural crops. A casserole dish filled with such agricultural bounty seemed fitting, especially for an autumn meal. Once zucchini can't be found locally, I can see hard squash being equally delicious in this recipe, especially butternut squash, but the cooking time for winter squash will be longer than summer squash.

To make the tamale crust, combine the water, salt and corn meal in a medium sized saucepan set on a medium-high and stir on the heat until boiling.

As soon as the mixture begins to thicken, lower the heat to low and continue stirring until thick like porridge. Set aside to prepare the casserole filling. Grease a 9 by 13 inch casserole dish and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Zucchini, Onions and Peppers

Making the filling goes quickly, so it helps to have the vegetables chopped already and the seasonings out and ready to go. Saute the onion on medium high heat in a large saute pan until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until tan. Add the zucchini and continue cooking until the zucchini softens and begins to tan as well.

Add the corn, beans and fire-roasted tomatoes to the pan along with the spices and cook for about five minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings accordingly.

Spoon the filling into the greased casserole dish, top with the cornmeal mixture, and then top this with the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, until the cheese begins to bubble and brown.

Ingredients:

Tamale Crust:
4 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal

Filling:
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 cups diced zucchini, or three small zucchini
2 cups corn, preferably fresh, but canned or frozen will do as well
2 cups of pinto beans, preferably home made but canned will do as well
14 oz can of diced, fire roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Rick Bayless' Roasted Garlic and Chile Dressing

2011-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

I was raised in a family that showed how much they cared with food. We lived to eat and boy did we. Because of my family, I loved to cook from a young age. I loved to cook long before I started teaching, but when I started teaching, I stopped cooking. When I stopped teaching, I realized I had stopped doing something I loved, and slowly started getting my self-confidence back by experimenting in the kitchen. I was unemployed and began finding myself in the cookbook section of the library and the kitchen as a way to stave off boredom and depression while on the job hunt. I tried a Rick Bayless recipe and it felt like I had opened a world into a cuisine I had loved from afar, but had never even thought about making at home. Enter Mexican Everyday, a cookbook that merges authentic Mexican tastes with modern sensibilities including quick meals, slow cooker recipes and all with a bent towards a healthier style of eating.

Every single recipe I have made from this cookbook has been a success, which has resulted in me buying his cookbook and causing many splattered pages within (always a good sign in my house.) I've been eating salads for lunch recently, and have been experimenting with different dressings. This dressing is my newest favorite, at least until tomorrow. It will be fantastic as a dressing for a main dish steak salad, but will do just fine over just about anything or as a marinade. Just make sure whatever you are using will stand up to the kick of this dressing. This dressing isn't a wimp, so don't you dare put this over something else wimpy!

Empty jam jars are super useful for holding homemade salad dressing.

Roast the stemmed chile(s) and the unpeeled garlic cloves in a dry pan, turning frequently, until blotchy brown in spots - about 10 minutes. Set aside until handle-able.

Once cool enough to touch, peel the garlic and roughly chop the chile pepper. Combine the garlic, chile, oil, vinegar, salt and sugar in a blender jar or food processor. I love my immersion (stick) blender for this application.

Process until smooth. Taste and add more salt or sugar if needed.

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, unpeeled
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (the recipe states 2 Serranos or 1 jalapeno, but I just used one Serrano)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (1/2 cup safflower oil, 1/4 cup olive oil is a suggested riff that I followed)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (he recommends Sherry Vinegar, but I didn't have it and this was a suggested riff too)
Pinch sugar (not needed if using Sherry Vinegar)
Pinch salt

Seduced by Produce

Three Sisters Tamale Casserole

Rick Bayless' Roasted Garlic and Chile Dressing