We love Mexican food given any season, and this tamale pie fits right into our meal plan. Substituting the usual ground beef with ground white turkey meat significantly lowers the fat content, and turkey blends well with the intense flavours of Mexico. If you don’t want to roast fresh chiles for this dish, you can buy them already roasted in a can.
Turkey Tamale Pie
Print RecipeIngredients
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 2 small garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 pounds of ground white turkey meat
- 3 roasted New Mexico chile peppers, seeded and diced
- 1 teaspoon of crushed dried oregano
- 1 1/2-ounce can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can of pinto beans, drained
- 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1/2 cup of shredded reduced-fat Jack cheese
- 2 scallions, white part and 1-inch green, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add onion and cook, often stirring, until onion wilts, for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Crumble ground turkey into the skillet and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring to break up any lumps of turkey until onion is lightly browned and the meat is no longer pink for about 5 minutes.
- Add the chile peppers, oregano, pinto beans, tomatoes, corn, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt (if using), and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, occasionally stirring, until thickened, for about 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat a 9-inch square casserole with cooking spray. Transfer turkey mixture to the casserole and smooth the top. Set aside.
- In a medium pan, simmer on medium heat. Whisking all of the time, gradually add the cornmeal, ground cumin, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, constantly stirring, until cornmeal is quite thick, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Spoon the cornmeal mixture on top of the turkey mixture and spread evenly over the top. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until the cornmeal is cooked through about 30 to 40 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with scallions.
