Home > Total Nutrition > Recipes for Pure Enjoyment

Pumpkin Tamale Pie

By Jill Place, MA, RD

Clipping recipes is almost an addiction for me. I've got a whole file drawer full. Carefully trimmed magazine and newpaper recipes. Recipes meticulously copied at the beauty parlor with goop on my head waiting for my hair to redden. I even have to admit that . . . horrors . . . I've actually ripped recipes I couldn't live without out of magazines at the dentist's.

I like to have lots of recipes so that I can put bits and pieces of them together to create a new dish. I did that just yesterday. And the results were amazing!

I love things with crusts. But I'm not eating much wheat these days. So crusty recipes have gotten a little difficult. But there's several wheat-free Bisquick-type baking mixes on the market. I especially like the one from Arrowhead Mills. I've made cornbread, muffins, and quick breads with it. I've also used it quite successfully to make cornbread toppings on casseroles. When I make cornbread or toppings, I also like to use blue cornmeal, which is earthy, dense, and tastes much better than regular cornmeal.

I also don't like to waste food. And I've never made pumpkin anything—pie or casserole or custard—around Thanksgiving time without having to buy pumpkin in the giant economy size can. I think they hide them and put them back out right afterwards. It certainly seems that way.

So here I was with cornmeal, baking mix, and some pumpkin . . . lots of pumpkin. And Barney and I had just finished Thanksgiving leftovers. I rifled through that file drawer and came up with two recipes, one from an old copy of Bon Apetit and another from some other magazine like Gourmet or Cooking Light. I took the filling of one and the topping, which included cornmeal and pumpkin, of the other. And I changed and defatted the recipe enough to make it my own . . . I read somewhere once that if you change three things in a recipe it's all yours. So here's my recipe for Pumpkin Tamale Pie. It was surprisingly quick and easy . . . and took only 15 minutes of actual preparation to make. Barney says this one is a keeper!

The following recipe made six generous servings and I served it twice with a tossed green salad and once with a fruit salad. This would also be good with a traditional Mexican salad of fruit, cut-up jicama, and a sprinkling of chili powder. If you have a heartier appetite and need more quick food in your meal, add some canned refried black beans, and/or Spanish rice made from scratch or a mix.

Pumpkin Tamale Pie

Filling:

1 medium onion

1 medium green pepper

1 Tablespoon canola or walnut oil

3/4 pound ground organic chicken or turkey breast

3/4 pound lean ground organic pork or beef or a combination of both (or omit the meat and use 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey for a leaner product)

12 ounces tomato sauce

2 Tablespoons tomato paste (or use 1 Tablespoon concentrated tomato paste in a tube)

10 ounces frozen yellow or white corn, thawed

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon or more Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste

1 Tablespoon yellow, white, or blue cornmeal

Topping:

3/4 cup yellow, white, or blue cornmeal

3/4 cup wheat-free baking mix or Bisquick

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

3/4 cup almond, soy, rice, or dairy low fat or fat-free milk

1 egg, 2 egg whites, or equivalent egg subsitute

2 teaspoons canola or walnut oil

To make the filling: Chop onion and green pepper together in a food processor until finely chopped. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet and saute onion and green pepper until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 pounds of poultry and/or meat and saute, breaking up lumps, until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the rest of the ingredients and gently simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Place filling in 13x9x2-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray.

To make topping: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put cornmeal, mix, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl and blend. Add the rest of the topping ingredients and stir until just combined. Spoon topping on top of of filling and smooth with spatula.

Bake in 425-degree oven 25 to 35 minutes until topping is firm. If you are using wheat-free mix the topping will not brown as well as Bisquick. Let casserole stand five minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Serve with low fat, fat-free, or non-dairy sour cream and regular of fruit salsa if desired.

© Copyright 2002 Jill Place, MA, RD