Taste of tradition

Simmered in culture and stuffed with flavor, tamales offer something for everyone

By Marty Meitus, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 12, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

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Photo by Judy DeHaas / The Rocky

Paul Sandoval, owner of Tamales by La Casita, kisses grand- daughter Ariel, held by his daughter Andrea Sandoval, at one of his restau- rants.

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When Paul Sandoval started making tamales in 1974, there was one large-scale tamale purveyor in Denver. Now, he says, there are at least six.

What's fueling the trend? Besides the growing Hispanic population, Sandoval believes people are in search of good Mexican food. Because making a tamale can be time-consuming, it's not surprising that folks are flocking to buy the already-made versions of the portable food. They also satisfy the something-for-everyone criterion, because they can be meat or vegetarian.

Sandoval, a state senator from 1974 to 1982, owns Tamales by La Casita restaurants, where he has turned tamale-making into a thriving cottage industry. Several family members take part: his nephews, Julio Saragosa and Feliz Martinez; his sister-in-law, Maria Martinez; his daughters, Andrea and Amanda; and his wife, Paula, a current senator.

The tamales are handmade first thing every morning. They're filled with masa - a dough made from corn - and Sandoval's proprietary fillings. On this particular occasion, Sandoval and his nephew, Julio, are on hand to show us the technique.

Tamales are corn husks or banana leaves stuffed with masa and a meat or vegetarian chile mixture; they're then folded and steamed. They date from pre-Columbian Mexico, and because of the importance of corn to the culture, tamales have long been served for important occasions.

At Christmas, families often gather in the kitchen to make tamales for fun and camaraderie.

"The joke," says Sandoval, as Julio chimes in gleefully, "is that we were so poor, all we had to unwrap was a tamale."

Sandoval sells 12,000 tamales daily, steaming them in a machine of his own design that can handle racks of tamales at one time. For the holiday season, Sandoval ramps up production, making 225,000 wholesale and retail for the week, with customers lined up three deep to take home this slice of tradition.

If the numbers sound large, consider that Sandoval's operation now supplies many of the local Mexican restaurants, including his own, and his tamales appear under the Old Timer label at King Soopers.

Tamales by La Casita, 3561 Tejon St., 303-477-2899, and 4390 W. 44th Ave., 303-455-2190. No pre-orders for the holidays; closed Christmas Day.

Here today: gone tamales

These days, tamales have become a blank canvas for enterprising chefs, who have found new ways to tweak tradition. Food Network chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay fills his tamales with shrimp and roasted garlic, or sweet potatoes and honey.

Restaurateur Richard Sandoval (no relation to Paul Sandoval) of Tamayo and Zengo in Denver dishes up a Lobster Tamale With Zucchini, a Chicken Tamale With Sweet Chipotle Sauce and a Chocolate Tamale With Hazelnut Sauce in his book on Modern Mexican Flavors (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35).

Making tamales, step-by-step

1 Mix the masa harina (dried corn flour, available at groceries under many labels), adding canola oil, baking powder and salt to make the dough. It should have the consistency of cookie dough.

2 Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, place a 2-ounce dollop of dough in the center of a clean, rehydrated corn husk. You want the husk damp to make spreading the masa easier.

3 Spread the masa with a butter knife or spatula all the way to the edges in a square, leaving 2 or 3 inches unfilled toward the point of the triangle.

4 Top the masa with 11/2 ounces of filling, which should be made ahead and chilled - otherwise the tamale will be runny.

5 Fold the two long sides of the corn husk, as if you were wrapping a package. First fold one side over just until it covers the filling, then fold the other side on top of that.

6 Fold the pointed end up over the folded sides, pressing down so that the ends will stay folded and you won't need to tie the husk. The tamale will sit open-side up in the steamer; make enough tamales to fill your pot.

7 In a pot - preferably a stockpot - steam the tamales. If you don't have a steamer to support the tamales upright, make foil balls and place in the bottom of the pot. Add hot water to just below the foil so that the tamales are not sitting in water.

8 Place tamales upright in the pot, packing them tightly, but allowing room for steam to circulate. Cover with a lid or foil. Steam tamales according to the recipe, replenishing the water as needed. Tamale is done when the masa inside is shiny.

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