Tamale Pie

Having quite a bit of pulled pork left over, I decided to try and find something different to do with it. Typically I will just make some tacos out of it, or continue eating it as a sandwich because it's just so good that way. So when this popped up on my google reader so conveniently that morning, I printed it out, scanned the ingredients, and viola! I had them all! Brilliant!

That's always a good start to last minute dinner ideas...so here I was, on my way to make a tamale pie. A simple pork mixture topped with spicy cornbread. Which, by the way, I absolutely loved. I don't feel like I need to explain too much...anything covered in spicy and cheesy cornbread topped with cilantro lime sour cream should by default be delicious.

I didn't serve this with anything. Sometimes I forget things like that. Although it happened to be enough for us that night, it would have been nice to have a light and airy green salad to go along with it.

Tamale Pie
Printable Recipe
by Kacey's Kitchen, slightly adapted from Rohin Bellinger, Serious Eats: Recipes

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 can whole corn kernels
  
• 3 cups packed of cooked shredded pork shoulder
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 1 can black beans in soup
  
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
  
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup coarsely grated pepper jack cheese
• Sour cream, cilantro, and lime to serve, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until soft and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.
   
3. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper. After about a minute, stir in the corn kernels for another minute.
   
4. Add the pork and drained beans to the skillet and stir until well combined. Then pour in the bean with sauce and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes and then turn off the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
5. Pour pork mixture into a 10" casserole dish.
   
6. Make the cornbread topping: Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, chili powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl to blend. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until blended and then stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.
7. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the pie filling. Drop the cornbread batter in large spoonfuls over the top of the filling and then spread it evenly to cover the filling completely.
8. Bake until cornbread topping is deep golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream and cilantro for garnishes, if you like.