Pastel de tamal

Monday night Sarah and I used the same recipe from Cocinando en dos Idiomas (Cooking in Spanish and English). Sarah chose the recipe on page 106 for Tamale Pie. As I cooked I remembered that my Aunt Bessie used to make Tamale Pie. This was the same type of dish only she used bisquit dough for the crust. This recipe called for cooked cornmeal.

I had my doubts about this recipe when I read the ingredients for the meat mixture that went between the cooked cornmeal. BELL PEPPERS??? I substituted 7 roasted green chiles (HOT not mild). Instead of a "dash" of chile powder I used two tablespoons. I was trying to turn gringo cooking into a mexican dish! I don't think I would try making this again. But, if I did, I would use masa harina so the batter would be more like that of a tamal instead of like corn mush.

This dish was like sloppy joes in corn pone. It was not good. HOWEVER, the corn mush with butter and sugar I ate before I compiled the cassarole was DELICIOSO!

I get to choose the next one!