Consider Tamales for Thanksgiving

Photo of tamales wrapped in banana leafs



On the night before Thanksgiving many people of Latin American descent will be busy preparing dozens of various types of tamales. Tamales are small packets of corn or green mashed plantain dough filled with just about anything and then wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf and steamed until firm and easy to remove. I know it sounds easy, because they are easy to make and they taste great. A beloved colleague and mentor, Afro- Panamanian scholar George Priestly, who recently passed, would tell me how he would spend hours in his Brooklyn home making tamales before a special occasion like a Thanksgiving Day meal. It was a labor of love for George and in memory of him I want to share some tamale recipe ideas for Thanksgiving.



Vegetarian Banana Leaf Tamales

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/vegetarian_banana_leaf_tamales/



Panamanian Tamales

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/11/067045.shtml



Turkey Tamales with Mole Negro

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Turkey-Tamales-with-Mole-Negro-232060



Black Bean and Plantain Tamale Filling

http://recipes.chef2chef.net/recipe-archive/27/147412.shtml