Vegan-Friendly & Vegetarian Soyrizo & Potato and Pepper and Cheese Tamales
This is a vegetarian & vegan-friendly tamale recipe that is a 2-for-1. Try these delicious vegan soyrizo and potato tamales to impress your friends and family. This Poblano and Cheese tamale can be made vegetarian or vegan, and is a great throwback to a savory Mexican lunch. Mm!
Equipment
- tamale steamer
- Dutch Oven
- large food processor
- large mixing bowl
- medium saucepans
- whisk or hand mixer
- aluminum foil
- non-stick skillet
- ziploc bag
- twine optional, for tying tamales. recommended for vegan cheese tamales
- gloves optional, to protect from heat
Ingredients
Vegan Masa Mix
- 8½ cups masa harina
- 2 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1¾ cups canola oil
- 6½ cups veggie broth
Soyrizo & Potato Filling
- 2 tbsp canola oil for frying
- 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced into ¼ inches
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 12 oz soyrizo
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
Pasilla pepper & Cheese Filling
- 10 oz Pasilla or Poblano peppers
- 1¼ lbs tomatillos, husks removed
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons vegan butter
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 packages Monterey Jack cheese or Vegan cheese substitute
- salt and pepper
Tamales
- large package of corn husks, boiled for 40-50 tamales
Instructions
Preparation
- Heat a quart of water in a large Dutch Oven or steamer pot. Once boiling, take your corn husks and add the water, using a spatula to push them down. You can also use a heatproof ceramic plate to weigh down the husks. Cover the pot and heat for 30 minutes.
- Drain the corn husks and pat dry as well as you can. It's okay if they're a little damp, but don't let them dry out as you want them to be pliable for the tamales.
Masa Mix
- Heat vegetable broth in a saucepan until it is just slightly warm, 70-90°F.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together masa harina, salt, and baking powder.
- Add canola oil to the mix, and then add warm broth. The mixture will be very wet at first and then turn into the right moist masa texture once it comes together. Mix for about 3-5 minutes until there are no dry lumps of masa.
- Set aside while you prepare the fillings.
Soyrizo Filling
- In a saucepan or skillet, cook potatoes on medium heat with oil for about 2-3 minutes, until you get some color on them, and then remove and set aside.
- In the same pan with the leftover oil, add onion and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the entire package of soyrizo, and cook for 5 minutes, adding spices at the end.
- Add back the potatoes and cook together for 3 minutes, then set aside.
Pasilla Pepper & Cheese Filling
- Wrap your skillet in aluminum foil and blacken peppers over medium-high to high heat for 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and place into a quart-sized ziploc bag to steam for 10-15 minutes. Once done, peel the blackened skin of the peppers, deseed the peppers, and cut into 2-4 inch strips.
- Place the peeled tomatillos into a pot and boil in water for 5 minutes. They will slowly change color. Once done, drain and process until pureed in your food processor or blender until smooth.
- Cook your onion over a different skillet or saucepan with butter for five minutes. Add salt and pepper. Then add in the pureed tomatillo and bring to a boil, then quickly reducing heat to a simmer.
- Add in the poblanos and cilantro for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before arranging the tamales.
Arranging Tamales
- Fill water to the bottom of your tamale steamer and set the rack for placing tamales.
- Using Fill a spoon, take the masa and spread 2-3 tablespoons onto a flat corn husk. The amount depends on the size and shape of the corn husk. Leave the bottoms of the cornhusk free by at least 2 inches, and the top by ¼ inch.
- For the soyrizo filling, simply take put spoonfuls of the mix over the masa. Carefully wrap the tamale into cylinder so that the slides overlap and then tie together with twine, or tear a thin strip of a corn husk to use as a tie. Create a bottom by folding it over and set each tamale upright onto the tamale steamer, with the top pointing up.
- For the cheese filling, add two teaspoons or spoonfuls of the tomatillo mix over the masa, making sure that each tamale has at least one pepper piece. Then cut, or take a small 2-inch strip of cheese or vegan cheese and put it in the center of the mix. Carefully wrap it up with twine, making sure to wrap up the folded bottom with twine as well. For the vegan cheese especially, this is important because the melted cheese will be very runny and may leak.
- Repeat the process for the other tamales. You can delineate different flavors with different types of ties (double-knot or bowtie) or whether you use twine or strips of corn husk. If you are making a smaller batch of tamales and have trouble keeping them upright, you can hold them up with heatproof ceramic cups and mugs inside the pot.
- When all the tamales are filled and ready, put the cover over the tamales and bring to a boil over high heat. Once your tamales are boiling, start the timing for 1 hour and 15 minutes.You should not run out of water, but just in case, you can lower the heat from high to medium after 45 minutes to an hour. Salud!