Tamales de Pollo — Print Recipe

Large banana-leaf wrapped tamales filled with seasoned masa and a rich chicken filling with vegetables, olives, and capers, steamed until tender.

Ingredients

2kg masa harina
500ml chicken broth
200ml vegetable oil
1 whole chicken, cooked and shredded
4 tomatoes, roasted
2 red bell peppers, roasted
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
12 green olives
2 tbsp capers
3 potatoes, cubed and boiled
200g green beans, cut
Banana leaves, softened
Salt to taste

Instructions

1 Mix masa harina with warm chicken broth and oil until a smooth spreadable dough forms. Season well with salt. It should spread easily on leaves.
2 Roast tomatoes and peppers, then blend with garlic and onion into a smooth sauce. Simmer until thickened, about fifteen minutes.
3 Combine shredded chicken with the sauce, olives, capers, potatoes, and green beans. This is the filling.
4 Soften banana leaves over an open flame or in hot water. Cut into large rectangles about thirty centimeters long.
5 Spread a generous layer of masa on each leaf, add filling in the center, fold the leaf to enclose, and tie securely with string.
6 Steam tamales upright in a large pot for one and a half hours until the masa is firm and pulls away from the leaf cleanly.

Did You Know?

In El Salvador, tamales are so central to Christmas celebrations that families often make hundreds at a time in a communal cooking event called a tamalada.