Written by: Haley
Since moving to Guatemala, I’ve been able to have endless food adventures around Pana— whether it’s apprehensively testing out the various street food stalls or cooking at home with weird looking veggies I’ve found at the market, it’s been a culinary experiment.
Luckily for me Ligia has been my Guatemalan guide in every way possible— even though I’ve been here nearly nearly 4 months, she continues to enlighten me almost every day with Guatemalan culture tidbits. We were at the market a few weeks ago to picking up some ingredients and spontaneously decided to get some fresh tamales— afterwards, Ligia casually blew my mind with a tamale-inspired vegetarian stir-fry.
If there is something I've learned from living in Guatemala, it's that Guatemalans LOVE corn and incorporate it into their daily diet at least a few times a day (hence why all the tortillerias serve fresh tortillas 3 times per day). This was Ligia's creative twist on traditional tamales.
I’m telling you guys, it’s so easy and delicious. We had to make it again to share with Nadia [and the world]! If you happen to have easy-access to fresh tamales and fresh market veggies, you should 105% try making this and impress your friends.
I’m sure this recipe could easily feed four, but it was consumed by three of us no problema ツ
If you want to make this at home, you’ll need::
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2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
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1 onion, diced
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1 bell pepper, diced
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A few stalks of celery, diced (about a cups worth)
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STACKS of fresh tamales (probably 6-8), diced into cubes
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5 roma tomatoes, diced
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Salt & pepper to taste
After you’ve chopped up all of your ingredients, it’s just a matter of whipping up the stir fry! Cook the onion and garlic first with a little olive oil first, cooking until translucent, then add the diced bell pepper and celery. Let the ingredients cook for a five minutes or so before adding the tamale cubes, tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste! Let the tamales and tomatoes cook until hot, and serve! If you like your food with a little spice, I added hot sauce to mine and it was perfect. Let us know if you try this recipe or if you have your own take on tamales ツ
And of course Nadia made some of her iced green tea with honey and lemon ♡
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