Black Bean and Goat Cheese Tamales

Tamales take two.  And again, black bean tamales.  This time the black beans were part of the tamale "wrapper" instead of being inside the masa.  Like other tamale recipes, this wasn't difficult but was very time consuming.

I really did try to use lard this time but store didnt have lard so I used Spectrum shortening for the creaminess.

Because the beans were IN the masa mixture, the only thing to roll was the goat cheese which made that part a bit easier. 

They tied nicely.

I had a bit of trouble getting them to stem firm.  It took 2.5 hours and checked the water level every 30 minutes.  Even then I wasn't convinced of the texture being perfect, but the plan was to freeze them for a party a week later.

What I learned:  Tamales are an art form.  They take practice, but it is a fun exercise.  Mine weren't perfect, but they did firm up and tasted pretty good.

And where is the recipe, you might ask?  Rick Bayless publishes almost every recipe he creates on the internet for public viewing, but at this time time he hasn't done it with this one.  So I will respect his creative license and let you know you can find it in his latest cookbook Fiesta at Ricks.