Even if your turkey is perfectly cooked, the reheated leftovers can be a little dry and uninteresting. This tamale pie will rescue the last remnants of your bird in a significantly more exciting and flavorful way than the usual soup. There are two basic types of tamale pie, one with a cornbread topping and the other with traditional masa dough. Here, I wanted to create something that gives us the best of both, and I was very happy with how this came out. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro if desired.
Ingredients
- olive oil: 1 Tbsp
- onion: 1 piece (diced)
- salt: 1 tsp (divided)
- red bell pepper: 1 piece (diced)
- poblano peppers: 2 piece (diced)
- black pepper: 1 tsp (freshly ground)
- ground cumin: 2 tsp
- oregano: 1 tsp (dried)
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: 1 can (7 ounce can)
- cooked turkey: 3 cups (to taste, diced)
- sharp Cheddar cheese: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, divided, shredded)
- red enchilada sauce: 1 jar (15.5 ounce jar)
- ½ cups chicken broth: 1 piece
- ¼ cups cornmeal: 1 piece
- self-rising flour: 0.75 cup
- white sugar: 2 Tbsp
- kosher salt: 1 tsp
- eggs: 2 piece
- ½ cups milk: 1 piece
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and a large pinch of salt. Saute until translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and poblano peppers. Season with black pepper, cumin, and oregano. Cook and stir until peppers start to soften, about 2 minutes. Add chipotles and adobo sauce. Stir to combine and remove from heat.
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Add turkey and half the Cheddar cheese to the pepper mixture. Add enchilada sauce, remaining salt, and chicken broth. Stir mixture and pour it into a 9x12-inch baking dish; place dish over a sheet pan to catch drippings.
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Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, and kosher salt together in a large bowl. Add eggs and milk; whisk into a thin batter. Ladle batter over the turkey mixture. Scatter remaining Cheddar cheese on top.
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Bake in the preheated oven until the topping is browned and a toothpick comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
