Utica Tamales

Greens, or “Utica Greens”, is the restaurant version of the nonna dish Greens & Beans (zuppa di scarola e fagioli). Despite its simple name, this escarole-based dish can best be described as maximalist. Full of oil, prosciutto, spice, vinegar, bread, and cheese; the namesake greens seem to only serve the purpose of holding all of the fun stuff together. These tamales are a play on a version of this dish served over polenta, replaced by masa and steamed with a thick salsa macha with pickled cherry peppers complemented by fruit-forward guajillo chiles. Omit the chile de árbol if you can’t handle the heat.

Ingredients

Tamale Masa

• 25-30 corn husks
• 3 cups warm chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water plus more as needed
• 4 cups masa harina
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp kosher salt plus more to taste
• ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 cup lard or shortening

Cherry Pepper Salsa Macha

• 1 cup vegetable or other neutral oil
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• ¼ cup roasted unsalted peanuts
• ¼ cup unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds or
• 4 guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 5 chiles de árbol, stemmed and seeded (optional)
• 5 pickled cherry peppers, stemmed and seeded plus ¼ cup pickling liquid
• Kosher Salt to taste

Escarole Filling

• 2tbsp plus 2tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 6 slices prosciutto, torn crosswise in 1-2” strips
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 medium to large head escarole, cut cross-wise in 1” strips, rinsed thoroughly, and drained
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions – Masa

Step 1

Place corn husks in large pot, fill with water, and place on high heat covered. Check occasionally to make sure husks are submerged, push down to force out any bubbles. When boiling, turn off heat and leave covered while preparing remaining ingredients. When ready to assemble drain and leave and leave until cool enough to handle.

Step 2

Combine 3 cups of stock with masa harina, baking powder, salt, grated cheese, and lard. Mix by hand until homogenous. The consistency should be wet and fluffy like a dense cake batter, wetter than masa used for tortillas. If too dry or tacky add more of the stock. Cover with a wet towel and set aside until ready to assemble.

Directions – Salsa

Step 3

Heat vegetable oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Fry until garlic starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add dry chiles. Set aside to cool until safe to handle.

Step 4

Add contents of skillet to blender along with cherry peppers, pickling liquid, and salt. Blend on low setting until salsa is a thick oily paste.

Directions – Escarole

Step 5

In small pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and pinch of salt, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside

Step 6

Heat Remaining olive oil in 12” skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and prosciutto and cook about 3 minutes until meat starts to crisp without letting the garlic brown. Add escarole with salt and pepper and cook down, stirring occasionally until darkened and soft with all liquid in pan evaporated. The greens will lose a lot of volume, so if they don’t all fit at first, add them in two batches. Stir in breadcrumbs and grated cheese and remove from heat.

Directions – Assemble and Steam

Step 7

Add water to vegetable steamer and set to boil. Set up assembly station, from left to right: corn husks, bowl of warm water, masa dough, greens, salsa. Take one corn husk in your left hand. Dip your right-hand fingers in warm water, and take enough masa to press down a palm-sized disk onto the husk. scoop about 1/4 cup of the escarole filling onto masa, and then enough salsa to cover. Roll the masa over to cover filling and salsa, it’s ok if you don’t have complete coverage. Wrap the husk over and press to form a cylinder. If husk isn’t big enough to cover the contents, use second small husk to complete the wrap. Fold the bottom pointy end of corn husk over and place on table. Repeat until there is no more filling. You should have 12-15 tamales depending on size of escarole.

Step 8

After assembly is complete, wait until water is boiling. Line the bottom of steamer basket with 1 or 2 layers of remaining corn husks. Place all tamales in basket as vertically as possible, with folded end down, open end up. Cover top of pot with clean kitchen towel and lid. Steam for about 45-60min. To test doneness, slightly pull husk away from dough. If they separate easily the tamales are finished. Unwrap and serve with remaining salsa.