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Alamexo Cantina shares a traditional holiday recipe for tamales

Posted at 2:52 PM, Dec 14, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-14 16:52:06-05

Alamexo Cantina is in Salt Lake City's 9th and 9th neighborhood and is a gathering place where everything is served in a bright, casual setting.  It's located at 1059 East 900 South and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. - 10 p.m.

A seasoned team of culinary professionals creates every dish from scratch using local, organic and natural ingredients.

Chef Matthew Lake joined us with a traditional holiday food in Mexico - tamales.  Tamales are 'Little Presents' wrapped in a corn husk or banana leaf.  They can be either savory or sweet.  At Alamexo, tamales are made with fresh corn and no lard, keeping them healthy, light and flavorful.

Tamale de elote:
Fresh corn tamale with shrimp; cooked in a chipotle cream salsa
Yield 4 Tamales
Tamales
2 cups fresh sweet corn kernels
1 fresh jalapeno pepper minced
1 tbsp minced white onion raw
2 tbsp maseca corn flour
Salt to taste
6 Pieces dried & soaked corn husk

To make the tamales: Place the raw corn on a food processor and grind into s smooth paste, gently fold in the jalapeno and onion. Fold in the maseca flour, just enough to soak up the excess corn milk. Season to taste. Divide the fresh corn masa into four of the corn husk. Tear the remaining corn husk into strips to tie the ends. Steam for 10 min, hold covered and over gentle steam until served.

Salsa chipotle con crema-
3 ripe plum tomatoes roasted on a Comal
4 cloves peeled garlic whole & roasted on the Comal
1 tbsp chipotle adobo
¼ cup heavy cream
To make the salsa: Puree the tomatoes, garlic & chipotle adobo until smooth. Re-fry in a little oil and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and return to a simmer. Season with salt to taste.

To Serve:
Chop 12 large shrimp into large pieces. Sautee the shrimp in a little oil until just seared on the outside but not fully cooked. Add the chipotle cream salsa to the pan; bring to a simmer cooking until the shrimp are cooked. Open the tamales and arrange on serving plate, top with the shrimp and salsa. Garnish with grated queso fresco, minced white onion & fresh chopped cilantro. Serve at once.

For more information call 801-658-5859 or visit alamexo.com/cantina.