Pizza Tamalera
a baked open faced tamal made from fresh, homemade nixtamalWhile steamed tamales requires a lot of beating and whisking to aerate them, this baked tamal is much easier on your arm or blender motor requiring minimal whisking
Equipment
- food processor (or hand driven / electric corn mill)
Ingredients
Base
- 1 lb home-made ground nixtamal (see above) or masa harina for tamales
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 20 g olive oil or vegetable shortening (for a 1:5 ratio) - use more shortening if you prefer a richer dough
- water or vegetable stock (use approx a 1:1 ratio water:masa harina, and 1:2 ration water:fresh nixtamal
- salt to taste
Tomato Sauce
- 1 quantity tomato caldillo (see recipe above) or any tomato sauce of you choice
Toppings
- 1 small red onion
- 2 sweet bell peppers, various colours sliced into strips or rounds
- 1 courgette sliced
- 1 punnet mushrooms sliced
- 1-2 jalapeños or any large medium-hot chilli (red and green) (optional)
- your favourite fresh herbs (optional)
- grated dairy or vegan cheese or crushed nuts, such as hazelnuts, almonds, or hulled pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- warm the oven to 180C
- line a round or rectangular baking tin with greaseproof paper and grease lightly
Prepare The Tamal Base
- hydrate the masa harina if using with an initial 1:1 ratio of water
- fresh nixtamal is fine as is
- add the oil or fat to the nixtamal and mix it in with a spoon or using your hands
- add extra water or stock to achieve a spreadable but batter that still holds its shape
- and in the baking powder, mixing thoroughly
Assemble And Bake The Tamal
- spread the prepared tamal dough evenly over your lined baking tray, smoothing the top
- bake the tamal base for around 10-12 minutes, until set, but not browned
- spread on half the caldillo sauce, scatter on the cut vegetables and top with cheese or nuts if using
- return the "pizza" to the oven until the vegetables have softened and the cheese has melted (10-15 minutes)
- slice and serve with extra warm tomatillo sauce and a crisp salad