"RECIPE for Chicken TAMALES with Salsa Verde”

📷Christmas dinner is a tradition that brings family and friends together to celebrate this holiday. Tamales are essential to have for many as part of their celebratory feast, as they have become popular to enjoy during this time of year.

There's a variety of flavored tamales, some are prepared and filled with meat, others with cheese, mole sauce, vegetables, corn, pineapple and strawberry to name a few...

Ever since I can remember making tamales for Christmas has been a custom of my family as an activity to positively interact, share stories, and laugh at our silly jokes.

My favorite tamales have always been the Salsa Verde with chicken... As a Christmas gift, I would love to share my recipe with you guys, a recipe that has been passed on to me from my lovely mother who loves to cook.

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Ingredients:

• Chicken

• Salsa Verde

• Prepared Masa for tamales

• Corn Husk for tamales

•Tomatillos

• Serrano or Jalapeño peppers

• Clove of garlic

•Fresh Cilantro

•Chicken and tomato Flavored Bouillon

• Salt

• Water

Preparation of the chicken:

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• Wash, and place the chicken legs in a cooking pot, add enough water until the meat is fully covered with liquid.

• Add a spoon full of Chicken flavored Bouillon, and one of tomato flavored Bouillon.

•Cook for 30-45 minutes on medium low heat. 📷

•Remove the chicken from the water, set aside until it cools down to be able to shred the chicken with your hands.

“Salsa Verde📷Ingredients:

• 1 Pound of tomatillos

• 4 Serrano or Jalapeño peppers

• 1 Clove of garlic

• 1 Teaspoon of salt

• Fresh Cilantro

• Water

Preparation:

1- Peel away the tomatillo's entire husk, and wash them throughly.

2- Remove the stem from the peppers, and washed them.

3- In a cooking pot, add the tomatillos, and the peppers with enough water for them to cook.

4- Add diced onion for flavor.

5- Cook for approximately 10 minutes in medium heat until they come to boiling point.

6- Once cooked, set aside until ingredients cool down to be transferred into the blender. Add a peeled garlic clove, fresh cilantro, and teaspoon of salt.

7-Blend ingredients in the blender or food processor until to get a soft consistency.

8- In frying skillet add oil of choice to fry diced onion, add the salsa verde once the onion is caramelized, let cook until it comes to a boiling point.

9- Add the chicken to the Salsa Verde, and mix it together. 📷

“Chicken Tamales with SALSA

VERDE”

Preparation:📷

1- Wash and rinse the corn husk before using. I recommend to soak them in lukewarm water for an hour before using them to soften the husk.

2- Lay the husk on a flat surface. 📷

3- With a medium size spoon add enough dough onto the husk depending on the size of the husk. Use the back of a metal spoon to spread the dough onto the husk. When spreading the dough, leave a space of about 4 inches from the narrow end of the husk and about 2 inches from the other end. Spread the dough to the edge of one of the long sides and 2 inches away from the other long side. Try to keep the dough approximately 1/4-inch thick.

4-Locate the long side with a 2-inch space that doesn't have any masa. Fold that over, slightly overlapping the other side, so the edges of the dough meet. 

5- Wrap the extra husk around the back. Then, fold the broad end over the top and the longer narrow end over the broad end.

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Steam the Tamales:

6-Add about an inch of water into the bottom of a pot or steamer.

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7-Set the tamales upright in the steamer, or large pot.

8- Cover the pot with a lid and steam for 90 minutes. Do not let the water boil up completely. Add hot water to the pot as necessary, but keep it away from the tamales.

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Enjoy, and may you have a joyful and yummy holiday.

Merry Christmas!

Recipe written by Arasely(SHELLY)Martinez

Honoring my Mother Rita, who's an amazing cook.