Tamale Pie

Ever since cutting out meat, I've found that we have been eating a lot of Mexican inspired meals. This is due to the fact that we eat A LOT of beans.... This recipe is a favorite in our household, and it seems to always get a team effort. I make the filing, and K makes the cornbread topping. There are some things that he feels need to be made a certain way, so I willingly accept the help :) 


This meal reminds me of a Mexican Sheppard's pie, but it is waaaaaay better.


Ingredients
Tamale filling
-2 tbsp oil (you can used olive oil, coconut oil, or whatever you like to cook with)
-1 medium onion, diced
-2 tbsp chili powder
-3 garlic cloves, minced
-1 package of veggie ground round (I use either Gardein or Yves brand)
-1 (15 oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
-5 medium tomatoes, diced
-1 C shredded cheese (organic or vegan)
-4 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Cornbread topping
-3/4 C all-purpose flour
-3/4 C yellow cornmeal
-3 tbsp sugar
-3/4 tsp salt
-3/4 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-3/4 C plain, unsweetened almond milk
-1 egg or 1 flax egg (1tbsp ground flax mixed with 3 tbsp water, let sit 10 minutes)
-3 tbsp vegan butter


Directions
-Adjust oven racks to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees
-Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, chili powder, 1/4 tsp salt and cook until onion is soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in garlic. 

-Stir in veggie ground round, beans, tomatoes and bring to simmer. Take off heat and stir in cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in large baking dish. Dish must be big enough so that the filing is about an 1 1/2 inches deep. Spread cheese evenly over top. Set aside.








-Whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl. 
-In a separate bowl, whisk together egg (or flax egg) and almond milk. Stir the egg-milk mixture into the flour mixture until uniform. Stir in butter until just combined.
-Dollop cornmeal mixture evenly over filing in baking dish. Place in oven and bake until cornbread is cook though in the center, 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven, serve.













This meal is still really good the next day for lunch as well. I thought that the cornbread would definitely get soggy, but it held up pretty well.


Enjoy!!!