Tamal Costarricense
The Costa Rican Christmas tamal — soft corn masa enriched with broth and lard, filled with pork, rice, and vegetables, wrapped in banana leaf and boiled. Families gather for the all-day 'tamaleada' to make them by the hundred.
Ingredients
- 4 cupsmasa harina
- 4 cupspork or chicken broth (warm)
- 1 cuplard or oil
- 2 lbpork shoulder (cooked and cut in pieces)
- 1 cupcooked white rice
- 1 red bell pepper (cut in strips)
- 1 cupgreen beans and carrots (par-cooked)
- 1/2 cupcooked garbanzos
- 2 tbspSalsa Lizano
- 1 tspachiote (for color)
- banana leaves (cut in squares, softened over flame)
- kitchen string
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Cook and season the masa: knead masa harina with warm pork or chicken broth, lard (or oil), achiote for color, Salsa Lizano, and salt until smooth and spreadable — like soft mashed potatoes. Cook it briefly in a pot, stirring, until it pulls together, then cool slightly.
- 2
Soften the banana-leaf squares by passing each quickly over an open flame or dipping in hot water until pliable and glossy. Wipe clean.
- 3
Spread a scoop of masa in the center of each leaf. Top with a piece of cooked pork, a spoon of rice, strips of sweet pepper, a few garbanzos, and pieces of green bean and carrot.
- 4
Fold the leaf over the filling into a sealed rectangular packet, folding in the ends. Tie two packets back-to-back with string into the traditional 'piña' (the classic pair).
- 5
Boil the tied tamales in salted water for about 1 hour. Lift out, let them drain and rest 10 minutes so the masa firms, then unwrap and serve warm with Salsa Lizano or salsa de tomate.
60:00
Notes
A December ritual made in huge batches — double or triple it and recruit help, assembly-line style. They freeze perfectly: cool fully, freeze in their wrappers, and reheat by boiling from frozen for about 20 minutes. The banana leaf perfumes the masa, so don't substitute foil if you can avoid it. Photo: Nachojr99, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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