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Tamale Pie

A casserole of cornmeal crust topped with sausage, ground beef, vegetables, tomatoes, corn, olives, and cheese.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 19 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Tamale Pie

Oven350°F
Timeabout 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cornmeal base

  1. Bring the water to a boil in a 3‑quart saucepan.

  2. Stir the cornmeal into the 2 cups of cold water to prevent lumping.

  3. Stir the cornmeal mixture into the boiling water. Continue to stir while the water returns to a boil.

  4. Turn the heat to low.

  5. Stir in 1½ tsp of salt and the butter.

  6. Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often.

Make the filling

  1. In a large frying pan, mash the sausage. Cook the sausage over medium heat until it begins to lose color.

  2. Add the chili powder and cumin. Stir the mixture. Cook about 5 minutes.

  3. Add the garlic, onions, green pepper, celery and remaining salt. Stir the mixture. Cook until the vegetables are limp.

  4. Crumble the beef into the pan. Mash the beef. Cook until the raw color disappears.

  5. Add the tomatoes, corn, green chilies (and jalapeño pepper, if used). Let the mixture simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Assemble and bake

  1. Grease or oil a large baking pan at least 10 x 14 x 2 inches.

  2. Spread ⅔ of the cornmeal mixture on the bottom and sides of the pan.

  3. Spoon in the filling and distribute the olives evenly over.

  4. Spoon the remaining cornmeal over the top and sprinkle with the cheese.

  5. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 1 hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1062Calories
68 gProtein
66 gFat
52 gCarbs

Counts 17 of 18 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 17 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Pork100g cooked242
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Cheddar Cheese1 oz (28g)113
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Plum1 medium (66g)30
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Cumin + clovetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,306 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Yellow cornmeal
Forms the thick cornmeal crust that holds the filling and sets as it cooks.
Ground beef
Provides the main meaty body and savory flavor of the filling.
Bulk sausage
Adds fat and seasoned meat flavor to the filling.
Canned tomatoes
Supply moisture and acidity that build the sauce of the filling.
Cheddar cheese
Melts over the top, adding fat, richness and browning.
Onions
Add sweetness and aromatic depth as they soften in the filling.

The step that matters

Cooking the cornmeal mixture. Stirring the cornmeal into cold water before adding it to boiling water prevents lumps, and stirring while simmering keeps the starch from scorching and sticking. Cooking it long enough gives a smooth, set base that can be spread in the pan.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, cumin, garlic, onion, pepper, celery, beef):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, cumin, garlic, onion, pepper, celery, beef. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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