Ecuadorean Ecuadorian Tamales De Navidad - For Christmas

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth (from chicken you cook)
• 3 eggs
• 1 lb masa harina (do not use ready made masa, it has lime which will not work in this recipe)
• 8 ounces butter
• 8 ounces lard or 8 ounces additional butter
• 6 ounces sugar
• 2 ounces peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup raisins, black, soaked in
• 3/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 onion, cut lengthwise into thin slices & parboiled & drained
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 onion, diced finely
• 1/2 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, in jar
• 4 eggs, hard boiled & cut into eighths lengthwise
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced very thinly
• 1 small whole chicken
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 6 -8 banana leaves or 6 -8 if not available use aluminum foil or 6 -8 parchment paper, cut into 10 inch squares. my family doesn't use corn husks for this kind of tamale

Recipe

• 1 place whole chicken in large pot with water to cover. add 1 whole onion, 1 garlic clove, 2 sprigs parsley, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. cook on medium heat until the chicken is falling off the bone.
• 2 remove chicken from water & cool.
• 3 strain broth and reserve 4 cups.
• 4 when cool, skin and bone chicken. shed chicken meat.
• 5 add 2 tbsp oil in skillet and add 1/2 diced onion. sauté over low heat until very soft. add peanut butter and mix until melted, about 2 minutes. add 1 tbsp sugar, milk and allspice. cook until almost ready to boil. remove from heat and set aside.
• 6 in large heavy pot, place masa flour and 3 cups cooled broth. first whisk and then continue to mix with strong wooden spoon. cook over medium high heat, do not let lumps form. turn often with wooden spoon. when a thin dark brown crust forms on the bottom of the pot, it is done.
• 7 let masa cool in pot until lukewarm. turn masa out onto board or waxed paper.
• 8 when cool enough to handle, add butter, and lard if you are using it. knead in by hand. add 6 oz sugar and knead it. taste a bit of masa for salt. if your broth was not salty, add 1/2-3/4 tsp salt. add in the 3 eggs, one at a time. knead well.
• 9 separate out balls of dough, about the size of a small lemon. place in center of each banana leaf or foil or parchment paper square wrapper and pat out with your hand until each is about 6" round.
• 10 place about 1/4 c chicken filling onto each masa round.
• 11 place one piece of hard-boiled egg, one olive, 1 slice red bell pepper, 3 pieces of parboiled onion and 3 raisins on top of chicken mixture on each masa round.
• 12 fold over each round into half-moon shape and press edges together well.
• 13 fold over wrapper and tie with kitchen twine if using banana leaves. if using foil or parchment paper, seal edges well.
• 14 place tamales, in batches, in steamer and steam for 30 minutes.
• 15 serve with wrapper still on. each person opens their own.
• 16 if you want to omit a certain filling ingredient from some of them, you can tie different colors of thread around those to identify them later.