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BROWSE MOREground beef tamale pie
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1940's Tamale Pie
Ready in: 1-2 hrs 
Difficulty: 3/5
photo by: Nee C
4 images - click image to view all
INGREDIENTS:
***Cornmeal Mush***
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup cold water
3 1/2 cups boiling water or chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt
***Tamale Pie***
8 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper
1/3 cup chili powder or to taste
3 tablespoons butter or oil
4 cups cooked ground beef
2 pimientos, chopped
1 1/2 cup black pitted olives (or less), roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
To cook cornmeal mush: stir cornmeal into the cold water to moisten it, in the top of a double boiler. Then add boiling water or chicken stock and salt; mix well. Set the top over the bottom of the boiler, filled with 1 to 2 inches of boiling water, put a lid on the top and steam the cornmeal for 30 to 45 minutes until the water is all absorbed.
For tamale pie: Beat butter into hot cooked cornmeal; set aside. Fry onion, garlic and bell pepper with chili powder in butter or oil until vegetables are just slightly softened, 2 or 3 minutes. Add cooked meat, pimientos, olives and season to taste. Put a layer of cornmeal mush in a baking dish, add the layer of meat filling and cover with another layer of mush.
Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven until the mush is crusty on top, about 30 minutes.
NUTRITION:
This 1940's Tamale Pie recipe from CDKitchen serves/makes 8
Recipe ID: 880
REVIEWS:
Dtrmend 2010-11-30
Today my intention was to make Hot Tamales, only to find I had nothing to wrap them in. I remember once making a Tamale Casserole and came across this 1940's Tamale Pie Recipe. I doubled the recipe to make 16 servings. I also put together a type of sauce for the exclamation point to add a tad more spicing. The recipe was easy to follow and it baked up beautifully. I enjoyed it as much as I would have enjoyed my Hot Tamales...noting far less prep time! I may never go back to all the steps of Hot Tamales- pick some up when visiting fam in the Mississippi Delta. I rate it a 5 for taste and prep time. Please see pic.
saxlady 2005-05-08
Gee, this brought back memories! The only thing my father could (or would) cook was Tamale Pie - which was made with leftover Corn Meal Mush. I never was really crazy about it, but it rated high on my sentimental factor!
Guest: oldie 2009-04-07
My mom also used kernal type corn and the black olives - it was one of my favorites. Been decades since I had it and have a hankering to eat it again.
Guest: esorami 2008-12-18
Well, I remember loving Tamale Pie made like mush, only it had corn in the ingredients. I also think it had canned tomatoes in it.
Guest: tamale 2008-06-15
What I find missing in most receipes today is the SIZE of the pan. I am making this receipe for a large gathering; hope the pan I use is not too large and the presenation looks scrawny. I will report back. I too remember the dish from childhood and look forward passing it on to another generation.
