Oh my – are these tasty! Bob (of Barb and Bob, not of Bob and Don) brought these wonderful little treats to our get together on Saturday and everyone loved them. Bob split them into two batches – one with red jalapeños and one without. I thought the jalapeños added a nice touch of heat – and an interesting one at that. Entirely by accident, he used some striated red jalapeños (which, according to da Google, we learned indicates the hotter jalapeño) – these jalapeños added an initial ‘bite’ of heat that quickly dissipated, only to return as a lingering tingle on your lips – mmmmmm.
Bob also, very nicely I think, consented to passing along the recipe, which I really think you should try. I certainly plan to.
Thanks again for sharing Pequeña Taza de Masa y Frijoles Negros con Queso
(Black Bean Masa Cups), Bob.
INGREDIENTS
Masa Cups:
•2 cups fresh masa – coarse ground for tamales
•2 tbsp vegetable shortening (or lard) – at room temp
•1 whole egg
•2 tsp baking powder
Black Bean Filling:
•1 (15 oz) can of black beans with about 2 tbsp of the liquid
•2 cloves garlic finely chopped
•1/2 medium white onion finely chopped
•1 tbsp unsalted butter (or lard)
•1 tsp dried oregano (or epazote)
•1 finely chopped chipotle en adobo
•1/2 cup of a nice melty Mexican cheese (Oaxaca or Asadero or Chihuahua) – shredded/chopped
Make the dough for the cups by thoroughly mixing the masa, lard (or shortening), egg, and baking powder. The dough should be very stiff and stick only to itself; if it’s too wet, add either dry masa (masa harina), or a bit of cornstarch, a teaspoon or so at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Roll a ball of dough in your palms to about 3/4″ diameter and drop the ball of dough into a mini-muffin pan (24 muffins per pan). Press the dough up the sides up sides of each cup with your thumbs.
Repeat above until all dough is used – the amount above is generally sufficient to fill the entire pan.
Slide filled muffin pan in a 350º oven for about 10 minutes to pre-bake the masa cups. Remove from oven.
Now for the filling:
Melt the butter over medium heat, then add the onion and sauté until well browned.
Add the garlic and other seasonings, continue to cook for a couple minutes.
Reduce heat to low, add about half the beans and bean liquid and mash thoroughly. Repeat with remainder of beans and liquid. Cook beans down stirring frequently until quite stiff and then remove from heat.
Spoon cooked beans into each masa cup (still in the muffin pan) to nearly full. Top with a bit of the cheese.
Slide the pan back in the oven (still at 350º) and bake until cheese begins to brown – about 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Slide a small knife down the edge of each cup to loosen it from the pan and lift out.
You can serve these warm; or cool and transport, then ‘wave for about a minute in a single layer to reheat.
BOB NOTES: there are endless variations on this – fillings are limited only by your pantry. Try putting the cheese on the bottom and adding cooked chorizo with roasted garlic and roasted/peeled poblano chiles. I’ve even made ’em with a squash (and ancho paste) ravioli filling and a drizzle of crème fraîche.