Peruvian-style tamales made with seasoned corn dough wrapped around a filling of chicken, hard-boiled egg, and olives, steamed in banana leaves.
Ingredients
4 cups corn masa or ground dried corn
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups chicken broth
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
8 black olives
2 tbsp ají panca paste
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
Banana leaves for wrapping
Kitchen string for tying
Salt to taste
Instructions
1Mix the corn masa with softened shortening, chicken broth, ají panca paste, and salt, kneading until you have a smooth, spreadable dough with an even reddish color throughout.
2Prepare the filling by sautéing the onion and garlic until golden, then adding the shredded chicken and cumin, cooking for 5 minutes until well seasoned.
3Cut banana leaves into large rectangles, briefly pass them over a flame to make them pliable, then spread a generous layer of corn dough in the center of each leaf.
4Place shredded chicken filling, a quarter of hard-boiled egg, and one olive in the center of the dough, then fold the banana leaf to enclose everything, tying securely with string.
5Steam the wrapped tamales in a large pot with a steamer basket for 1.5 to 2 hours, adding water as needed, until the dough is firm and pulls away cleanly from the banana leaf.
6Let the tamales rest for 10 minutes after steaming before unwrapping, and serve with salsa criolla (onion relish) and a squeeze of lime.
Did You Know?
Peruvian tamales are distinguished from their Mexican cousins by the use of banana leaves instead of corn husks and ají panca paste, and they are traditionally eaten for Sunday breakfast in Lima.