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Tamales Santafereños o Bogotános (Santa Fe Region Tamales) |mycolombianrecipes.com

Tamales Santafereños o Bogotános (Santa Fe Region Tamales)

Erica Dinho
5 from 10 votes
Servings 12 tamales

Ingredients
 

Marinade

  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 1 large red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 large green bell pepper chopped
  • 4 scallions chopped
  • 4 tablespoons ground cumin
  • 3 tablespoons sazon with azafran or color
  • Salt
  • 2 cups water

Filling

  • 1 pound pork belly cut into 12 pieces
  • 2 pounds bone in pork ribs cut into pieces
  • 12 pieces of chicken
  • 3 large potatoes peeled and sliced
  • 1 cup peas fresh or frozen
  • 2 carrots peeled and sliced
  • 2 cups of cooked chickpeas
  • 1 pound of longaniza Colombian sausage optional

Masa

  • 1 pound yellow precooked corn meal masarepa
  • 5 cups water
  • Salt
  • ½ cup marinade
  • 2 tablespoons sazon with azafran or color

Wrapping

  • 2 pounds banana leaves cut into pieces about 15 inches long
  • String
  • Water and Salt to cook the tamales

Instructions
 

  • Place all the marinade ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Reserve ½ cup of the marinade to prepare the masa.
  • In a large plastic bowl place all the meat, add 1 ½ cups of the marinade. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. To prepare the masa: Place the masarepa in a large bowl, add the water, salt, sazon or color and reserved marinade. Mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands.
  • Wash the leaves well with hot water and set aside.
  • To assemble the tamales: Place 1 piece of the leaf on a work surface and place a second leaf on top, pointing in the opposite direction, like forming a cross.
  • Spread ¾ cup of masa in the center of the banana leaves, at the point where they connect and form a cross. Place 1 chicken piece, 1 piece pork belly and 1 piece of rib on top of the masa and place about 1 tablespoon of peas, 2 or 3 slices of carrots, 2 or 3 slices of potatoes, and about 3 tablespoons of chickpeas on top of the meat.
  • Fold the banana leaves up, one of the four sides at the time, so that the leaves enclose all of the filling, like you’re making a package. Tie with butcher’s string. Continue the process until all the tamales are wrapped and tied. Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add the tamales and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Remove the tamales from the pot and let them sit for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Cut the string and serve in the leaves. Serve hogao on the side if desired.
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