I field a lot of questions about corn and cornmeal and how to absorb more nutrition from it. My answer is that if you wish to use corn, the best way to do so for the average cook is to use Masa Harina. Masa is corn that has been soaked in lime, dried and ground into cornmeal. Store your masa, like all corn flour products, in the freezer.
Masa can be used to make tortillas, cornbread-crusted dishes and more. Due to the change in flavor brought about by the lime, it especially works well with Mexican-flavored dishes. I sometimes make a pan of masa-based cornbread to go with Mexican dishes when we’re tired of rice.
Menu Mailer Volume 4 Week 9
This crust recipe can be used with 4-6 cups of any Mexican-flavored filling. The crust makes it a good way to stretch the meat in a meal.
½ cup flour of your choice (I used ¼ cup each sorghum and tapioca)
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar PLUS unsweetened rice/almond milk to make 1 cup (or 1 cup buttermilk)
2 cups taco meat (beef or chicken), hot
2-4 cups cooked pinto beans, hot
½ cup masa harina
1-2 Tbs rapadura
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp xanthan gum if gluten free
1 egg
¼ cup coconut oil or butter, melted
Whisk the flour into the soured rice milk or buttermilk and cover. Don’t soak any starches like tapioca flour. Soak 8 hours.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 9×13 pan and place the pre-heated taco meat and beans inside. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine the masa, rapadura, baking powder, soda, salt, and xanthan gum and set side. In another bowl, whisk the egg and melted oil into the flour mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth (or use a hand mixer). Pour over the meat mixture in the 9×13 pan and smooth the crust out to the edges. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the crust is set and golden.
This recipe has been shared on the Beans and Lentils Linky.
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I love this recipe. Perfect for a week night dinner. The kids will love this one!