Ras-el-hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that contains several warming spices (such as cinnamon and nutmeg) with a little ginger and chile for heat. If you can’t find it, use garam masala instead.
Recipe information
Yield
8 Servings
Ingredients
⅓
2
1
2
3
5
¼
1
2
1
4
1¼
1
¼
2
3
1
6
2
½
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Add beef and cook, breaking into small clumps with a wooden spoon, until it just starts to brown, 6–8 minutes. Season with salt and continue to cook, stirring, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 4 minutes. Transfer beef to a medium bowl; set aside.
Step 2
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in same pot and add onions, chiles, and garlic; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any browned bits stuck to bottom of pot, until vegetables have softened, 6–8 minutes. Add tomato paste, ras-el-hanout, and cumin; cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute.
Step 3
Return reserved beef to pot and add beer. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced, 2–4 minutes. Add chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened, 45–60 minutes.
Step 4
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Whisk eggs, milk, cheese, and remaining ⅓ cup oil in a medium bowl. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients until just combined.
Step 5
Skim fat from surface of chili if needed, then transfer to a 13x9" baking dish. Dollop batter over chili and spread in an even layer with the back of wooden spoon (it’s okay if it doesn’t cover the entire surface). Bake casserole until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edges, 30–40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
Step 6
Meanwhile, combine yogurt with mint; season with salt.
Step 7
Serve tamale pie with mint yogurt, cilantro, scallions, pickled onions, and avocado.
Leave a Review
Reviews (8)
Back to TopI made this a few weeks ago, and man it is an incredible flavor explosion. To make it slightly less fattening, I subbed 1 lb of beef for Turkey, and kept the other 1 lb of beef. I also am lazy, so I used TJ's cornbread mix. Otherwise I followed the recipe to a T. For the greek yogurt garnish I added some lemon and garlic as well. I will be making this again for Christmas Eve (because it's that level of special), and I will add some cilantro this time to the yogurt mix. Also - I would venture to say that the pickled red onions are the perfect accompaniment to this recipe.
Katie
Sonoma County, California
12/23/2020
This was so good and I don't know why there aren't more reviews! I used half beef half pork as that's what I have left and it worked great! The filling is super savoury and goes really well with the sweet cornmeal topping and mint yoghurt. Will deffo make again
Stanley Ho
Birmingham
5/31/2020
made this with lamb. Actually made it for thanksgiving! we even had it with a side of cranberry sauce. Made the chili the day prior, then made the batter and assembled the next day. Super easy, and I'm sure the chili got even better from 24 hours marination! added extra ras al hanout and a few extra shakes of cinnamon. Forgot to have cilantro and alliums on the side. would've been a nice little bit of green and freshness to the dish, although the mint yogurt did the job here. Everyone loved it and had seconds. I would be interested to see how it would turn out with masa instead of cornmeal. Had more of a cornbread crust than a tamale texture, but I loved that! Interested to see how I might riff on this in the future.
seymourkitty
Portland, OR
11/29/2019