Peruvian-Style Tamales - Vegan and Gluten-Free

If you are interested in trending foods, Latin-American cuisine or just like to try something new, chances are you have heard of “Tamales”. Pretty much every country in Latin America has their own version of Tamales, Hallacas or Humitas, a corn based steamed dough with a filling. The singular form is Tamal and not as often erroneously referred to as Tamale.

In Peru Tamales are served for breakfast in a bread or as a complete meal and garnished with “criollo sauce”. As I not live in Peru, I have some handy tricks to replace ingredients that are difficult to find.

While Latin-American cuisine doesn't tend to be vegan, it is very plant-based in it's nature and very easy to substitute. Today I am sharing with you my tasty, convincing and beautiful vegan Peruvian-Style Tamales. 100% Vegan and Gluten-Free.

Ingredients for 8-10 servings

For the Base of Tamales (Masa):

500g Cornmeal

500ml Water (add more if necessary)

1 large chopped Onion

3 crushed Garlic Cloves

2 Tbls. Peruvian Aji Colorado (Can be substituted with Smoked Paprika or Chilli Paste)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tsp. Cumin

Vegetable Oil to fry

For the Filling:

Peanuts

Olives

Vegan Chicken, Tofu or Mushrooms

For Salsa Criolla to garnish:

1 Sliced Onion

1 Lemon

1 Tbls. Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

Coriander and Chilli

To wrap the Tamales:

Plantain Leaf (I am using Cooking Foil)

Preparation:

Sauté the onions in a deep pan and add your chilli and spices. To prevent your mixture from burning you can add some water until the mixture is fully sautéd. Now cover the mixture with water and stir in your cornmeal. You might need to add more water as you go. Once your dough starts to form a smooth but firm consistency you can add salt to the paste and taste it. Once you are satisfied with texture and taste you can remove your pan from the heat.

Now you can start to fill the Tamales. As I can't easily find Plantain leaves, I am using cooking foil.

Pre-cut 8-10 sheets and set aside. The filling depends on your preference. In Peru Chicken, Pork and boiled egg are the original filling, alongside olives and peanuts. Today I am using “No-Chick Chicken Strips”, but you can use Tofu or Mushrooms to make them Gluten-Free.

On the shiny side of your foil-sheet scoop a spoon of your mixture and stick in your fillings. Top you mixture with another small spoonful of the mixture and wrap your Tamal into a tight rectangle and seal.

Once all of your little packages are ready, fill a deep pot with about 2 inches of water and place a steaming basket inside. If you do not have a steaming basket you can use balls of foil to leverage the tamales, as they must not touch the water. Make sure that the water is not to high as you do not want to boil them but steam them. Then take a sheet of wet baking paper and cover the packages before placing your lid on the pot. This helps to keep the tamales moist without the steam escaping. Your tamales will now need to steam for around two hours. If this is the first time doing this, you might want to regularly check that the water hasn’t dried up.

For the Salsa Criolla you will slice an onion and place it in a colander to wash. Now transfer your washed onion slices to a bowl and drizzle the juice of a lemon, your oil and some salt. If you like coriander and chilli you can chop these and add them to your salsa criolla. Mix and let the onion cook in the lemon.

Now that your tamales are steamed, you can unravel them and serve them on a plate with salsa criolla. Enjoy!

Tip: You can freeze your tamales before unraveling and simply reheat in boiling water.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. Let me know how it went for you.