Tamalitos Verdes

Mini Green Tamales with Wild Mushroom–Seco Sauce

The tamales of northern Peru are very different from Mexican tamales. Instead of masa, Peruvian tamales are made with fresh choclo, a large-kernel sweet corn from the Andes. When cooked, they are moist and almost melt in your mouth. The tamales are served with seco (page 151), a green sauce that is used in dishes all over Peru. It usually is made from the tasty leftover juices from slow-cooking meats and chicken, but I also make a vegetarian version (page 206).

A little Peruvian home cook secret: If you are short on time, turn the choclo base into pepián, a homey, polentalike corn stew. Stop cooking the choclo while the filling is still super moist, and top it with the seco sauce. You can add mushrooms or a little roasted chicken, whatever you’d like, but I usually just spoon a little seco sauce on top. Pepián is so creamy and comforting, it is an excellent stand-in when you don’t have the time to make the tamales.

1 Put the corn husks in a medium bowl, cover with warm water, and set aside to soak for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside on paper towels to dry. To make tamale ties, tear off 18 to 20 shoestring-like strips about ¼ inch thick from 1 to 2 husks.

2 While the corn husks soak, in a food processor, process the choclo until finely ground, with the texture of a chunky puree, a good minute.

3 In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat for about 1 minute. Add the pureed choclo and sauté for a minute or two, stirring constantly, then add the seco sauce and 1½ cups of water. Bring the sauce and corn to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring often, until reduced and thickened to even more of a porridgelike consistency, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat if the corn begins to stick to the pan too much (the mixture is dry and will stick some). Season the choclo with salt to taste, remove from the heat, and set the corn mixture aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

4 To fill the tamales, lay 2 soaked husks on a work surface so the two wide ends overlap by 3 to 4 inches in the center, and the pointed edges face east and west to form a diamondlike shape. Mound about ¼ cup of the corn mixture in the center of the husks to form a rectangle about 3 inches long. Fold the top edge of the husks snugly over the filling and repeat with the bottom edge. Next, fold both sides of the husks inward to form a little package about 4 inches long and 2 inches wide. The filling should be snugly enclosed in the husks. Wrap one of the ties around the middle of the tamale and tie the ends firmly together to cinch the center like a belt (if the tie breaks, begin again with a new tie). Tie the tamale a second time around the center so it is securely sealed. Repeat with the remaining filling and husks. (At this point, the tamales can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day before steaming.)

5 Fill a steamer with water and bring the water to a simmer. (If you don’t have a steamer, place a large metal colander over a deep pot so it rests on the handles and does not touch the bottom. Add just enough water so the bottom of the colander is not submerged, bring the water to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low.) Stand the tamales upright in the steamer or colander, cover, and steam for about 45 minutes. (Don’t stack them, or the tamales will cook at different times from bottom to top.) If using a colander, check to make sure there is always enough water at the bottom of the pot, and add more as needed. Remove the steamer or pot from the heat and keep the tamales covered so they stay warm.

6 Serve the tamales with the wild mushroom–seco sauce and jalapeño salsa criolla alongside. Or, unwrap the tamales and plate them individually with the sauce and salsa spooned generously on top.

PEPIÁN If you’d like to serve this as a corn stew, in step 3, remove the corn mixture from the heat when it still has a soupier texture, after about 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Serve with the wild mushroom–seco sauce and jalapeño salsa criolla on top.

Wild Mushroom–Seco Sauce

Makes about 1½ cups

This is a very forgiving sauce, so it’s a good opportunity to play around with different varieties of mushrooms. It also reheats nicely, so you can make it ahead and serve it with tamales one night, a good steak the next. If you are making a vegan version, use olive oil instead of butter. Too much olive oil can make mushrooms taste oily, so use a little less.

In a large sauté pan, heat the butter and the olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. (If you’d rather not use butter, use a generous 2 tablespoons oil instead.) Add the mushrooms and garlic and sauté, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to brown and shrink, 8 to 10 minutes, depending on their size. Add the seco sauce, scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and cook until the sauce has reduced slightly and the mushrooms are very tender, about 5 minutes more. Season the sauce with salt and use immediately, or remove from the heat and rewarm when the tamales are ready. Or, let the sauce cool completely, cover, and refrigerate it for up to 2 days before rewarming over medium heat, stirring often.