Tamal de olla

Ingredients

Masa

• 500 gmasarepa or masa harina
• 1.2 litreschicken stock
• 150 glard or butter
• 1 tspachiote or annatto
• 1 tspsalt

Filling

• 1 kgchicken, poached and shredded
• 2onions, chopped
• 1red pepper
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 4tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 3 tbspoil

To scatter

• 100 ggreen olives
• 60 gcapers
• 80 graisins
• 2hard-boiled eggs, sliced

To serve

• hot, spooned from the dish
• with rice and a salad

Directions

1. Beat the fat until light before combining it, which aerates the masa. Now the liquid, which should be stock. Use chicken stock rather than water, which seasons the masa throughout. The stock from poaching the chicken is exactly right here and should not be thrown away.
2. Add it gradually and beat the masa hard as you go. Now the consistency, which needs judgement. Poach the chicken with aromatics and shred it, keeping the stock. Fry the onion and pepper until soft, add the garlic, then the tomato paste and fry it until it darkens. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook everything down into a thick base.
3. Cook the filling until it is thick with no free liquid at all. A wet filling seeps into the masa layers and gives a soggy, collapsing casserole. Return the shredded chicken, season with cumin and oregano, and taste it carefully.
4. Season the filling firmly, since the plain masa around it mutes everything considerably. Do not leave the raisins out on the grounds that they seem odd, since the sweetness against the salt is the point.
5. Grease a deep oven dish and spread half the masa over the base. Spread the chicken filling over it in an even layer. Scatter the olives, capers, raisins and sliced egg over the filling. Now spread the remaining masa over the top and smooth it.
6. Spread the top layer gently with a wet spatula rather than pressing it, since dragging it pulls the filling up into it. Do not fill the dish more than about three-quarters, since the masa rises slightly.
7. Cover the dish with foil and bake at 180°C for forty-five minutes. Covering it for the first part stops the top drying out before the middle sets, which is the main risk with a thick masa. Serve it spooned from the dish, hot, with rice and a salad.

Technique

• It is the same masa and filling as a wrapped tamal, made as a casserole.
• Masa harina is nixtamalised and ordinary cornmeal will not work.
• Olives, capers and raisins together are traditional rather than optional.

Substitutions

• Butter in place of lard, though lard is better.
• Pork in place of chicken, which is also traditional.

Variations

• Made with pork, which is common at Christmas.
• Wrapped in banana leaves as individual tamales.
• Made with a hotter filling, with chilli through the guiso.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tamal de olla?

Tamal de olla is a main from Panama: pot-baked corn tamale casserole with chicken and olives.

How long does Tamal de olla take to make?

Tamal de olla takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Tamal de olla?

Yes, within limits. Butter in place of lard, though lard is better. Pork in place of chicken, which is also traditional.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tamal de olla?

Beat the fat until light before combining it, which aerates the masa. Now the liquid, which should be stock. Use chicken stock rather than water, which seasons the masa throughout. The stock from poaching the chicken is exactly right here and should not be thrown away.