Tamales
My friend and neighbor Marcela is from Costa Rica and made handmade tamales for Christmas. They were so delicious!
Tamales are a popular aromatic and hearty dish from Latin America, made of masa (a starchy dough, usually corn-based). Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chilies and steamed or boiled in a leaf wrapper. In Mexico tamales are wrapped in corn leaves, banana or plantain leaves, depending on the region. Marcela’s tamales were corn-based with chicken, vegetables, olives and wrapped in a plantain leaves.
This dish takes a long time to prepare so normally people make a lot at one time and then store them in a refrigerator or freezer. Today, tamales are often eaten during festivities, such as Christmas, the Day of the Dead, Mexican Independence Day etc.
