Tamale Pie!

So on Friday afternoon I was looking for something delicious to make for dinner that evening and came across this post by the lovely Sonja and Alex of A Couple Cooks. We have tacos fairly often at our house, and maybe one other Mexican dish, but otherwise, despite how much I love it, I don't often make the cuisine.



When I saw the post for Vegetable Tamale Pies, I knew it would be something delicious and decided I had to make some for myself! Now, I don't have fancy individual serving dishes, so I made my in an actual pie dish. Thus my presentation clearly was not as lovely as it could have been, but I will definitely vouch for this being awesome. We ate ours with tortilla chips and a fork with a dollop of sour cream and it was the perfect meal, and had leftovers for lunch the next day!

I've never made polenta before, but it was super easy and I will for sure be making this again!

Tamale Pie
Adapted from A Couple Cooks
1 cup cornmeal for polenta
2 cans black beans
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup salsa
1.5 teaspoons cumin (my cumin is super strong, so I cut back a bit from the original)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/2-3/4 cup grated cheddar
Sour cream to serve

Make the polenta. When it's done, spread a layer evenly in the bottom of your baking dish. Chop the cilantro. Drain the can of diced tomatoes to remove excess liquid. If using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans. In large bowl, coarsely mash the beans with a fork. Add 1 cup corn, tomatoes, bell pepper, salsa, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon oregano, a bit of salt, and 1/4 cup cilantro. Mix to combine. Spoon the bean mixture on top of the polenta. Top the dish with cheese and remaining cilantro. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until heated through. Top with sour cream to serve. Enjoy!