1940's Tamale Pie Recipe

To cook cornmeal mush: stir 1 cup of cornmeal into 1/2 cup cold water to moisten it, in the top of a double boiler. Then add 3 1/2 cups boiling water or chicken stock and 2 tsps 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 3 Tbsp 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 350F oven until the mush is crusty on top, about 30 minutes.