My sister bought me the 10 year Complete America's Test Kitchen cookbook for Mother's Day and I have been going through it like a mad woman marking the millions of recipes I want to try. This was one of them. First off, I love any meal that only uses one pan! The tamale filling was full of flavor and perfectly accented with a homemade cornbread topping. The meal came together pretty quickly and created little mess. Definitely a keeper!
Ingredients:
TAMALE FILLING:
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 Tbsp. chili powder
table salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. ground beef
1 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro ( I used probably 2-3 times this much!)
CORNBREAD TOPPING:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3 Tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. TAMALE FILLING- heat the oil in a 12 inch oven-safe skillet (I used my hutch oven) over medium heat. Add onion, chili powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cook till fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in the ground beef, bean, and tomatoes, bring to a simmer and break up meat with a wooden spoon, for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cheddar cheese and cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
4. CORNBREAD TOPPING- whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture until uniform. Stir in the cooled butter until just combined.
5. Dallop the cornbread batter evenly over the tamale filling, then spread into an even layer. Bake until the cornbread is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.
