Fresh Corn Tamales

  

Right about now you can feel summertime caressing the afternoons with some hot temperatures. The nights are still pleasant, and the vegetable fields are showing signs of a great summer crop. Yes, summer is knocking at the door and is getting ready to come in. I embrace the heat because we will be rewarded with vegetables and fruits (corn, squash, okra, beans, watermelons, peaches) that can only be found during this time of the year. Among my favorites, corn is at the top of the list. Summers at grandmother's house in Decatur, Alabama was just a treat. Driving there, we passed huge corn and cotton fields. The 6-7 feet tall corn stalks resembled an army formation that escorted us to grandmother's house. Granddaddy grew his own corn, and he took a lot of pride in his crop. The corn he grew was sweet and delicious. Sitting on the patio in the afternoon shucking corn and shelling beans while sipping a cold drink was a loved pastime. This weekend I came across some corn from Florida. No, it was not granddaddy’s corn but watching my son smile as he was taking a few bites of it was approval enough for me.
Saturday night was Cinco de Mayo, and in our home, we try to prepare meals to experience popular holidays. Since we were grilling, I thought that fresh corn tamales would be appropriate for our dinner and at the same time give it a Cinco de Mayo motif.

Fresh Corn Tamale

Ingredients:
10 ears fresh corn
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1/2 stick butter, melted
1cup Harina Pan, (corn flour)
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely shredded

Preparation:
Carefully remove a dozen large husks to wrap the tamales with. Finish shucking corn. Wash husks and place them in a gallon zip-lock bag to keep them moist. Remove silks from corn and cut corn off cobs, making sure you remove all the corn and its milk. Place corn in a food processor with the salt, sugar and Harina Pan. Pulse the processor until a dough is formed. If too crumbly, add a little water.

Remove from processor, add cheese and knead dough by hand. Place just enough dough onto the husk so it will be completely covered when you wrap the tamale with the husk.

 
Fold the ends of the husk and place tamales, folded side down, in a steamer basket. Steam over boiling water for approximately one hour, until masa is firm and holds its shape. Serve tamales immediately and allow each person to unwrap their own. If you have a microwave steamer, steam tamales for about 10 minutes, remove to flip them and to make sure there is enough water in your steamer.  Finish cooking them for another 10 minutes.