Vegan She Wrote: OMG Tamale Pie!

Gluten Free Tamale Pie

Tamale pie, Mexican Shepherds pie, chili and cornbread in one pot, call it what you like, this dish is so damn tasty! Hearty, mildly spiced (because, as we've mentioned, I'm a lightweight when it comes to spice), thick and nutrient packed chili, with a layer of gluten-free cornbread (inspired by this very much not vegan recipe for 100% cornmeal cornbread from the Plan to Eat blog) baked right on top. It's a fabulous one pot meal that will appease even the skeptical omnivores. I think the TVP or Bocca crumbles (NOT gluten free) help with that. However, if you have any sort of issues with faux meat (I myself am not usually a huge fan of the texture, but I like it here), feel free to omit it. You could absolutely substitute an additional zucchini, some crumbled tofu, or a diced portobello mushroom instead.

One more note on ingredients/bean rant. While we do like to use dry beans in our home most of the time (so much more economical, you can control the salt and additives, and no cans to rinse and recycle), I do like to keep several cans in the pantry at all times, just in case. Sometimes canned beans are just more convenient, especially if I'm cooking something spur of the moment, or it's been a long day at school or work, and I just don't have any home made beans in the fridge. It's gotten much easier to find reduced sodium or no salt added beans lately, but one problem I always run into specifically has to do with kidney beans. Canned kidney beans nearly always contain that terrible, sneaky little thing called High Fructose Corn Syrup. I’ve found that most organic brands are safe, as are many of the reduced sodium variety. Just further proof of how important it is to READ LABELS. Know what you're buying, who you're buying it from and what exactly it is that you're putting in your body. Rant done.

The chili is also great all on its own, and it has a whole lot going on. It was originally inspired by a Rachel Ray recipe for Veg Head Three Bean Chili, that I came across years ago. I've made many of my own additions, subtractions, and alterations to it over the years. If there's a chance to add some dark leafy greens, I'll take it! As usual, like most chilis and stews, this just gets even better with age as the flavors marry. I'll make a batch of this if we have a lot of people coming over. Set out bowls of crushed tortilla chips, vegan cheese, sliced avocado, tomatoes, sliced sweet peppers, etc. for a server yourself chili bar. Serve it over pasta for some super tasty chili mac. Endless options! Which is why I thought it would be the perfect base for this Tamale Pie.

This recipe makes a LOT of chili. A bit more than I had intended, as, after I had filled my 9x13 casserole pan 2/3 of the way full, I still had about 2 1//2 cups of chili left. No complaints at our house of course. I didn't bother freezing it this time, as I know my husband will go through it in the next few days. However, there are several options for dealing with excess chili. You can simply stick it in the fridge, as I did; you can portion it out in mason jars or freezer safe bags and freeze it (it'll keep for at least a month in the freezer, if not longer - just be sure to defrost the mason jars in the fridge before re-heating). You could also simply spread the remaining chili in a loaf pan, and save about 1/3 of the cornbread mixture to spread over it, and bake it along side the bigger batch.

Gluten Free Tamale Pie

For the Chili Base

(9x13 tamale pie serves 8 large portions, or 10 smaller portions. Chili serves 10-12)

· 1 tsp grapeseed oil

· 1 tsp whole cumin seeds

· 1 medium yellow onion, diced

· 1 green bell pepper, diced

· 1 red bell pepper, diced

· 2 medium zucchini, diced

· 5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

· 2 – 14oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

· 1 – 14oz can reduced sodium/no salt added black beans, drained, or 2 cups homemade

· 1 – 14oz can reduced sodium/no salt added kidney beans, draine, or 2 cups homemade

· 1 – 14oz can vegetarian refried beans

· 2 TBS chili powder

· 2 TBS ground cumin

· 1 tsp garlic powder

· ½ tsp Chipotle Mrs. Dash, or Chipotle chili powder

· 1 tsp sea salt

· 1/2 cup water

· 1 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein)

· 1/2 cup frozen organic corn

· 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (optional)

Bottome Left to Right - Whole cumin seeds and chili spices

"Beef Style" Textured Vegetable Protein - You can find them in the bulk sections of most health food stores, or certified GF from Bob's Redmill :)

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil on medium high heat. Add the cumin seeds and allow them to toast in the oil for about 30 seconds – 1 minute (you’ll know once they start to become fragrant). Add the onions and peppers and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and everything is starting to caramelize.

Onion, peppers, zucchini, garlic and spices

Add the garlic and zucchini, cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so, until the zucchini has begun to soften. Add the spices and salt, and cook for one minute more stirring frequently, to lightly toast the spices. Add the tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, TVP and water. Give everything a good stir, cover and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, stir, reduce the heat to low, cover again, and cook for about 20-30 minutes, checking it every 7-10 minutes or so.

Chili!

When the TVP has softened, stir in the re-fried beans, which will begin to melt into the chili, and continue to stir until no big lumps remain. Add the corn and spinach, stir, cover and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adjust if needed and remove from the heat. Allow the chili to cool while you put the cornbread batter together.

Gluten-Free Cornbread topping

2 cup cornmeal, organic non-GMO if possible

2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 flax eggs (2 TBS + 6 TBS warm water mixed together and set aside) – or EnerG Egg Replacer to equal 2 eggs
1 tablespoon agave or maple syrup
1 ¼ cups unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of choice, adding more if necessary)
3 TBS coconut oil
1/3 cup organic frozen (or fresh) corn, thawed

Directions

In a small bowl mix together the flax eggs, agave, almond milk and coconut oil. Set aside.

In a medium bowl combine cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the in the dry ingredients. Mix until just starting to come together, then fold in the corn.You want your batter to be fairly thick, so you may need to add a little additional almond milk or cornmeal in order to get the right texture.

Tamale Pie!

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

In a 9"x13" casserole dish (and additional loaf pan if you like), pour/ladle the chili until it is roughly 2/3 full.

Gently, and slowly spread cornbread mixture on top of the chili in an even layer (I like to go spoonful by spoonful, so that you can cover evenly and prevent the cornbread from sinking to the bottom).

Spreading the cornbread topping on.

Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of the bread. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes (or as long as you can), before serving.