Tamales With Olives For Christmas

Tamales are traditionally created using corn or plantain leaves and then steamed. Their filling can range from sweet or savory, and are frequently made for specific moon phases, seasons, or national celebrations.

To create a tamale, lay one husk flat with its concave side up and spread 1/4 cup masa evenly along its lower third, leaving an inch margin at each long edge. Add meat filling and an olive for decoration in the center; fold husk around them.

Early Life and Education

Making tamales at Christmas time is an integral tradition in Hispanic cultures, where one olive represents prosperity for the coming year.

Recipes for tamales vary by region, but their base always uses masa – made of regular or precooked corn flour with other ingredients – before being filled with either savory or sweet fillings and wrapped up in corn husks or plantains for steaming.

Erazo has long kept her grandmother’s recipes close, but will share her secrets during a master class at the Bullock Museum December 15. Part of their Third Thursdays series, general admission costs $15 with proceeds benefitting Early LIFE. Tickets for this event can be found by visiting their website – they typically sell out quickly!

Professional Career

Traditional tamales are prepared from masa, a ground corn dough that can be filled and steamed, filled with slow-cooked meat, cheeses and vegetables – along with olives for their distinctive salty taste.

Try the tasty green chile beef tamales (tamales de chile verde). A favorite holiday dish and delicious way to mark festive occasions!

To make these tamales, begin by removing the masa from the refrigerator and allowing it to warm to room temperature. Rinse out and clean each of your husks thoroughly, before pouring about 1/4 cup of masa onto each one, leaving an inch margin at either long edge. Next, fill your husk with a strip of onion, bacon piece, two olives and jalapeno pepper; fold over long sides over filling; wrap securely and tie closed using kitchen twine.

Achievement and Honors

Olives have long been used to represent Jesus as they represent his unborn life in Mary’s womb and often feature as part of tamale dishes to represent their tasteful representation of his ministry. Also, their salty, yet sweet flavour adds another level to these special treats!

Making tamales can be an arduous task that involves cooking, steaming and assembly – often an event held as part of a community celebration with singing, dancing and feasting taking place throughout. Some tamaladas even involve hundreds of participants that have been passed down from generation to generation.

A tamale is a tasty dish prepared from masa, corn-based dough wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks and then steamed. Filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables or fruits it has become an integral part of Hispanic Christmas celebrations.

Personal Life

As is traditional for Mexicans, one green olive is placed inside each traditional tamale as a symbol of Mary and Jesus being gestated within her womb and to mark its importance for celebration during Christmas time.

Tamales are a traditional Mexican dish composed of cornmeal dough stuffed with meats, cheeses and vegetables. First invented by Aztecs ten millennia ago and still consumed across Latin America today.

Making tamales requires soaking corn husks in water before starting the cooking process, a time-consuming yet manageable task when completed with friends’ assistance. Furthermore, all ingredients should be prepped ahead of time to save precious kitchen time during holidays.

Net Worth

Hill loves the cooking process despite her long days and hectic schedule, finding great enjoyment in making tamales from scratch. “Making them takes hours but is still enjoyable for me – I enjoy the music and camaraderie surrounding it all!” she exclaimed.

Mom loves making the filling and red sauce known as recado in advance to save time on tamale day. A tradition passed down from her Mexican mother-in-law is adding black olives in each tamale as part of the final touch.

Most grocery stores carry all the ingredients you need for making tamales in the ethnic or Latin foods aisle, and you can steam or heat them in the oven, microwave, or on the stove to make delicious tamales that make great gifts and can even be frozen to use later – just remember to press out any air before freezing!