In the more tropical areas of Mexico and Central America, you’ll commonly find tamales wrapped in banana leaves or plantain leaves, which have their own unique and subtle flavor. If you’ve never made tamales before, it’s a pretty long and involved process, which is why the making of them is so often a social event. Several dozens are made at a time, with the help of many hands. Tamales freeze well, so it makes sense to make more than you can eat at the time. The following process for making these wonderful banana leaf tamales was taught to me over several days by my good friend Arturo, who calls them “nacatamales”. I have since made them several times for our family with great results. This recipe is for a vegetarian filling, but you could also use a pulled pork or shredded chicken filling. The recipe makes about one dozen tamales; you can easily scale up the recipe.
Prepare the Sauce
See the instructions in this red chili sauce recipe for preparing the chili sauce with the ancho chilies. Before you start to handle chilies, either wear protective gloves or rub a little olive oil over your hands. Once you are finished handling chiles, wash your hands well with warm soapy water. Be careful not to touch your eyes if you’ve been handling chiles!
Prepare the Banana Leaves
If you are using frozen banana leaves (available at many Asian and Mexican markets), rinse them under warm water to defrost. Cut away the thick edges of the leaves. If you are using fresh banana leaves, also cut away the thick edges (and central stem if you are using freshly cut leaves). Note that you can cut off sinewy strips from the stem edge of the banana leaves to use as ties for the tamales. Rinse the leaves. Banana leaves may be brittle and tear when you try to fold them. One way I’ve heard of to soften them is to soak them in warm, salted water for about an hour. Another way to soften them which I have found effective, is to hold them over heat, either over a gas burner or a hot pan for a few seconds. Heat them only enough so that they turn color (brighter green) and soften. If you heat them too long, they will toast and become brittle again. Cut the banana leaves into rectangles about 8"x10". Dry off with a towel.
Prepare the Filling
Assemble the Tamales
Banana leaves have two sides. One side, the top of the leaf, is deep green and has somewhat thick ridges. The other side, the bottom of the leaf, is lighter green and is smoother. According to Diana Kennedy (and they guy I talked to at the local Mexican market) you will want to place the masa on the lighter green, smoother side of the leaf. (I’ve done it both ways and haven’t found it making that big of a difference to the taste.) Then add the tomatoes and squash. Sauté for a couple more minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until just wilted. Remove from heat.
Steam the Tamales
Many thanks to Sacramento caterer Arturo Vargas for taking several days to teach me the finer points of cooking nacatamales (banana leaf tamales) and introducing me to the local Mexican markets. Arturo is married to Martha, one of my oldest and dearest friends (since we were 13). Pictured here is their 6-year old son Christopher, who was very patient with his dad and me while we cooked tamales at their house. “Why can’t you play Elise?!” You can also make ties by pulling off some long thin strips from the larger part of the banana leaf and tying them together to form a long enough strip with which to tie up a tamale. Or, you can skip the tying step all together and just fold them well. If upon your first attempt to wrap a tamale the banana leaf is too brittle and tears, you may need to soften the banana leaves by heating them first as mentioned earlier. Makes approximately one dozen tamales.
