Mexico - Tamales de Anis, Salsa de Cacahuate, Atole

Background
Today's breakfast was brought to you by masa, corn flour, a staple of Mexican cooking. The main course of our breakfast were sweet anise-seed tamales with peanut and chipotle salsa. These recipes were taken from Culinary Mexico by Daniel Hoyer. Our drink was raspberry atole based on a recipe from Zarela's Veracruz by Zarela Martinez.

Tamales de Anis

• 12 cornhusks
• 1½ cups instant masa mix (e.g. Maseca)
• 1½ cups warm water (110-130° F)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp lard
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp anise seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped prunes

1. Cover corn husks with hot water and soak for 1 hour.  Drain and pat dry.
2. Mix masa and warm water stir until you get a crumbly texture. The amount of water to achieve this texture varies so add water slowly.  Let sit for 30 minutes, then weigh out 12 ounces of this mixture (reserve the rest for atole).
3. Whip butter and lard in a mixing bowl until they are fluffy.
4. Gradually add masa alternating with the three tablespoons of water.
5. Mix in anise seeds, salt, sugar, and prunes and beat for 2 minutes until smooth.
6. Put 2 tbsp of the mixture on the edge of a corn husk and roll it up.
7. Tie the ends with kitchen twine, trimming any excess.
8. Steam for 1 hour and 15 minutes, making sure that the steamer does not go dry.
9. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Salsa de Cacahuate

• ½ cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts
• 1 small onion
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 chipotles in adobo
• 1½ tsp apple vinegar
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Slice onions and tomatoes.
2. Roast onions, tomatoes, and garlic under a broiler.
3. Mix all ingredients, except cilantro, in a blender leaving a coarse texture.
4. Stir in cilantro and salt to taste just before serving.

Raspberry Atole

• 1 cup of raspberries
• 4½ cups of water
• ¼ cup masa left over from tamales (use more for thicker atole)
• ¼ cup grated piloncillo sugar

1. Boil 4 cups of water.
2. Puree the raspberries and masa with the remaining ½ cup of water.
3. Push the raspberry puree through a sieve into the boiling water (this removes the seeds).
4. Add the piloncillo and stir.
5. Maintain a low boil for 30 minutes as the drink thickens.

Results and Discussion
This breakfast easily took the longest of any of the others. Most of the time was spend making and steaming the tamales. The tamales were firm and moist with the plum providing a sweetness that was an excellent counter point to the heat of salsa. Roasting the vegetables prior to making the salsa provided additional flavor and really enhanced the taste. The recommendation of leaving the salsa "gritty" also gives an excellent texture to the salsa. The raspberry atole was a tasty drink and could be flavored with any berry of your choosing.
For advice on how to roll tamales we consulted How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman which has excellent illustration.
Cutting the piloncillo presented a special challenge. The block of sugar is very hard and it is impossible to break of parts. We resorted to using a serrated knife to shave off the sugar as needed. In Columbia a stone is common used to break the block apart but we live in an apartment.