A variety of cooking pots, photo by Scott Umstattd for unsplash.com
I’ve passed the halfway mark of the A to Z Challenge. Yay me!
Today’s letter is O. O is for Olla.
An olla (hoy-ya) is a cooking pot. The pot can be any of the sizes above.
In my house, when Mom asked me to get her olla, the conversation was some version of this:
“Small olla, big olla, the medium one?
“The one for the beans.”
“Big olla then. Just say the olla for beans.”
“You’ve sat at that table cleaning beans for ten minutes, which other olla did you think?”
On a cold evening when Mom had more days in the week left before her next check, we feasted on frijoles de olla and hot tortillas.
The recipe is simple but not quick*:
1 lb. pinto beans, soaked for two hours. Rinse first.
6 cups water
2 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno
1/4 yellow onion
2 tablespoons salt
Combine all in a large olla, add the water. When it boils, cover and reduce flame to simmer. Check after an hour; salt to taste. When they’re soft they’re ready.
Cumin is also used but I hate the smell so no cumin in my recipe. Salt pork or bacon can be added.
If I’m making chile beans, like I am tonight, I add cooked soy chorizo, “beefless ground” (Trader Joe’s) and powdered New Mexican chile. The no meat recipe is for the vegans in my family.
The simple dish looks like this:
Frijoles de Olla, homestyle pinto beans. Photo by gailanng
Buen provecho! (Bon Appetit).
Here are a few A to Z Challenges that I’ve enjoyed reading:
Five years after my youngest became a vegan, I now have another vegan son who has a wonderful girlfriend who is also vegan.
I began cooking vegan style for the youngest some time ago. My oldest son, David and his girlfriend, Laura ‘veganize’ all sorts of foods while educating people on their YouTube site titled “Hangry Vegans.” Their videos show their adventures shopping and creating vegan dishes. Recently, they created a Wix site, you guessed it: “Hangry Vegans.”
We made five types of tamales. And, this year I wasn’t the only one making vegan tamales. David and Laura sat at the table and learned from me and his aunt about the ‘how to’s” of making the masa (dough) and filling for tamales without lard or animal products.
They tried to manipulate the butter knife, masa to oja (corn husk) ratio, and fill the tamales without making them into fat burritos. I was impressed they kept at it, smoothing and fixing the ojas, laying on the right amount of chile and ‘cheese.’
A mother is impressed when her daughter cooks, but a Latina mother is doubly surprised when her adult son tackles a medium difficult project. For the trifecta, Laura said she and David would keep up the tradition. Maybe there will be some little ‘tamales’ in their future 🙂 (I’m going to get an OMG from them, but I’m joking!).
They both did well for first timers and now know why we complain of backaches the day after tamale making.
My mother stood by and asked what type of filling we’d use. When the words “Black beans” and vegan ‘cheese’ entered the conversation she gave us the familiar nose wrinkle. This is her polite way of saying “Yuck.”
You know millennials, they video everything. Here are the steps in motion:
Vegan Black Bean Tamales:
Masa/Dough
2 cups of Maseca Tamal corn flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Mix together in a large bowl and add:
1 1/3 cup of vegetable broth
In another bowl, use
2/3 cup of coconut or vegetable shortening.
Mix until fluffy. Add this to the dry ingredients and stir until batter is smooth.
Knead the dough like bread until it’s smooth and slightly sticky.
You can also buy store-bought masa at a Mexican supermarket. Ask for masa sin preparada (not prepared with lard). To this masa add the vegetable shortening and knead.
Spread a thin to medium layer of masa on the oja/corn husk, leaving 1/4 from the top clear.
Add a tablespoon or more of drained and rinsed cooked black beans, shredded vegan Monterrey style Jack cheese, and diced green chiles or strips of chile. A teaspoon of salsa verde or salsa roja can also be added.
Fold each side of oja to the middle and fold over the top of the oja. Press the open ends of the oja gently together.
Take a deep pot (tamale) which has a steamer bottom or put an overturned foil pie pan with four ventilated holes at the bottom of the pot. Add water until it reaches the rim of the pie pan.
Stack tamales into the pot about 2/3 full and around the edges, leaving a small funnel in the middle. Or, you can basketweave the tamales around the edges, also with a funnel in the middle. Water, when needed, is added in this space.
Wet and wring out a clean cotton kitchen towel. Drape it over the top of the stacked tamales, put a lid on the pot and place on the stove, at medium heat. Add water when necessary.
Set a timer for 90 minutes. Use a potholder to lift the lid and check the tamales. The masa will be cooked solid if it’s done. If the masa is mushy, set the timer for another hour.
Any vegetable filling can be used: lentils and corn, spinach and vegan cheese, peas and carrots, butternut squash are some examples.
For our sweet tamales recipes: Pineapple, Coconut; Cinnamon Raisin; and Strawberry go over to Hangry Vegans website. Check them out, they’re so cute.
alvaradofrazier.com 