This recipe comes from Olivares’s mom, Olga, who inspired her daughter’s passion for food. A renowned chef featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Olga will be the lead chef in Karla’s new catering company.
Ingredients
- 20 dried corn husks
- 1 (10-ounce) package of queso fresco
- 1 (10-ounce) can pickled sliced jalapeños
- 2 pounds freshly ground or packaged masa (Masienda yellow corn masa harina preferred)
- 1 cup lard
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Soak the corn husks in lukewarm water for thirty to sixty minutes.
- Cut the queso fresco into ½-inch sticks.
- Drain the jalapeños and set aside.
- Put the masa in a large bowl, add the lard, salt, baking powder, and garlic powder and knead for thirty minutes or so, until the mixture is smooth and the lard is fully incorporated. The masa should be the consistency of hummus and easy to spread.
- Spread three tablespoons of masa mixture evenly across each corn husk, smoothing from the wider end of the husk.
- Add a queso fresco stick and one or two slices of jalapeño on top of the masa on each husk. Fold each husk to wrap it and then fold the tip down.
- Place water in a steamer so that it doesn’t touch the tamales. Stack the tamales vertically in a circle over the metal insert. The tamales need to cook standing up.
- Tightly cover the pot and steam tamales for one to one and a half hours, checking to be sure the water does not completely evaporate and adding more if necessary.
- Remove the steamer from the heat and the tamales from the steamer.
- Let them rest for thirty minutes, then unwrap and enjoy.
Karla Olivares ’17 was an economics major at ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ and is a recent graduate of St. Phillip’s College, where she developed culinary skills and a passion for creating dishes that bring people together.
This story first appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Magazine. Manage your subscription and see other stories from the magazine on the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Magazine website.
