Tamales AZTECHI

If there's a typical Aztec dish, it's the tamale. Always present, in everyday life as well as on special occasions, at every holiday, celebration, or ritual, as in the markets of Tenochtitlán. Tamales were a convenient and filling snack, but also symbolic offerings, even in the most solemn contexts, immediately after human sacrifices. Because yes, after appeasing the gods, one had to eat! To try to reconstruct them, we don't rely on modern interpretations, but, as always, on direct sources: the diaries of the conquistadors and, above all, one of the most extraordinary codices of the 16th century, the "Historia de las cosas de la Nueva España," completed in 1577 by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, also known as the Florentine Codex. A veritable illuminated encyclopedia of the Nahuatl world, twelve volumes, approximately 2,500 illustrations, texts in Spanish and Nahuatl, the fruit of a collaborative effort with scribes, artists, and native elders. A work born during the years of the conquest, yet still alive and well, the customs, knowledge, and food practices of the Aztec empire. And it is precisely thanks to these pages that we will bring Aztec tamales back to life! Not just a simple "street food," not just folklore, but a dish that speaks of a civilization, both technical and ritual: nixtamalized corn, variable shapes and fillings (too much!), vegetable casings, slow cooking... In short, a dish for discerning gods! 🫔🌽🦃 🗒 Ingredients: ● For the masa: 500 g dried giant white corn 100 g amaranth seeds 4 g calcium hydroxide [Alternatively, instant masa mix] 1 chili pepper ½ lime + zest Salt to taste ● For the filling: ½ kg turkey thigh 2 pieces pasilla, ancho (poblano), and guajillo chilies 2 tomatoes 100 g toasted pumpkin seeds Salt to taste 📚 If you're curious to learn more, here are some books or texts I browsed, which inspired me, or which I drew from for this episode: ● Universal History of the Things of New Spain | Bernardino de Sahagún ● True History of the Conquest of New Spain (anthology) | Bernal Díaz del Castillo ● The Fifth Sun | Camilla Townsend ● Aztec Civilization and Religion | Luisa Pranzetti ● History of the Aztecs | Charles Wilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #history #recipe #curiosity #tamales #tortilla #mexican #aztecs #food #chef #sorsandro #gastronomy