Cathy Quiel
The official watercolor painting for National Tamale Day
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On March 23rd, National Tamale Day will be celebrated in restaurants, tamale shops, and homes all across the country. It’s a day founded in 2015 by tamale chef Richard Lambert, owner of Richard Lambert Tamales in Santa Barbara, California, and National Tamale Day Chairman.
“I was surprised when I found out there was no National Tamale Day and we set about to change that,” Lambert explains.
The theme for this year’s National Tamale Day is breakfast tamales. According to Lambert, over the years breakfast has become known as “tamale time” in Mexico.
In recognition of its morning popularity in Mexico, Lambert has introduced a breakfast tamale to coincide with National Tamale Day this year.
“We wanted to create a tamale with some popular breakfast flavors that also work well with our signature salsa verde,” Lambert says. “After a series of taste-tests, we chose breakfast sausage, bacon, caramelized sweet onion, diced potato, red and green bell pepper all blended together with our salsa verde, then topped with grated sharp cheddar cheese. We like to serve ours with fried eggs and pico de gallo.”
Here, Lambert shares his recipe with el Restaurante readers.
Breakfast Tamale
Makes 24 tamales
3 Spanish onions or sweet onions, medium size, thinly and evenly sliced
1 lb. ground breakfast sausage
1 lb. bacon, cut strips into ½” pieces
3 russet potatoes, medium size, small dice
3 bell peppers (2 green, 1 red), small dice
1 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2½ - 3 c. tomatillo salsa
3 lbs. masa preparada
24 sheets of parchment paper
48 (10-inch) lengths of raffia ribbon to tie ends of tamales
In a mixture of butter and olive oil, caramelize the onions. Place sliced onions in a large cast iron pan heated to medium-high. When the onions have softened a bit (about 3 minutes), lower heat and sauté onions for about 20 minutes, turning frequently. If onions begin to stick to the pan, deglaze with broth or water. The onions are ready when they have developed a rich caramel color. Add a teaspoon of salt at the end of the process then set onions aside.
Fry bacon pieces and sausage in separate pans and set aside.
Place diced potatoes in a large pan and fry in 3 to 4 tablespoons of bacon drippings, adding diced red and green bell peppers after 2 to 3 minutes. The potatoes are done when they are no longer crunchy, but still firm.
Combine bacon, sausage, and caramelized onion with potato mixture. Add ⅓ of the tomatillo salsa at a time until ingredients are blended. Place filling in refrigerator until ready to assemble tamales.Grate half the cheddar cheese; refrigerate the rest. It is easier to work with cold cheese, so grate more as needed.Prep masa in a mixer, using the paddle at a low speed for 1 to 2 minutes to bring the masa to a spreadable consistency. Place masa on a sheet pan covered with foil. Position masa, cheese, filling, wrapper and ribbon ties on a flat working surface. Spread 3 to 4 tablespoons of masa onto a parchment paper sheet using a masa spreader. Keep masa 1½" away from the right and left sides, and about 4 inches from the top (along the 9-inch edge). Bring masa all the way to the lower edge (the one closest to you). Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of filling on masa near the edge closest to you and sprinkle 2 to 3 tablespoons of grated cheese over filling. Carefully roll tamale (going away from you) and tie each end of wrapper with a ribbon tie.Place tamales in a steamer and steam for 1½ to 2 hours. Test doneness of masa by peeling back the wrapper a little to see if the masa is cooked through. It's best to let the masa firm up a bit by letting the tamales rest 10 minutes before serving.