Making Vegetarians, Meat Eaters, and Hungry Toddler's Happy

Every year for Christmas I get at least one cookbook and I usually read through it as soon as I possibly can.  This year my husband gave me the new America's Test Kitchen cookbook, and I immediately fell in love with the Lighter Tamale Pie in the vegetarian section.  I had already planned to make it at some point in early January, and once I found out we would be having a vegetarian house guest this past weekend, decided it would be the perfect dinner.

All three of the adults absolutely loved the meal, and because of the cornbread topping, it was filling with a side of green beans.  The toddler loved the cornbread so much that's all he wanted, although once he saw that no one else had anymore, he ate the beans and some of the vegetables.  My husband and I both took leftovers for lunch the next day and it was even better.  The cutting was a little time consuming, but once that was done, it was pretty easy.  If I was going to make this for a work night I would probably cook the filling the night before and then right before I was going to cook it make the cornbread, which takes about 5 minutes, and pop everything in the oven.  I also think next time I make this I'll make twice as much filling and freeze half, that way I can just defrost it and make the cornbread for a quick and hearty dinner.  I tweaked a few things, but ATK recipes are usually pretty perfect.

Lighter Tamale Pie
adapted from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2012

Sauce
1 lb tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed
spray oil (I use a misto filled with sunflower or organic canola oil)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/3 Tablespoons olive oil

Rinse and cut the tomatillos in half, place on a baking sheet, spray with the oil and broil until slightly charred and soft, about 5-10 minutes.  Blend with all the other ingredients and set aside.

Vegetable Filling
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 poblano chilies, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon dried chipotle pepper (if you don't have it cayenne will be fine)
1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
1 can cannellini beans or 1 1/2 cup cooked from dried
1 zucchini, halved, seeded, and chopped.
1 cup frozen corn
3 oz finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 450
Heat the olive oil over med-low heat and add the poblanos, bell pepper, and onion with a pinch of salt.  Cover and cook until soften, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove cover, turn up heat and cook vegetables for about 5 more minutes, until brown.  Add herbs and spices and cook for about 30 more seconds.  Stir in sauce, beans, corn and zucchini and continue cooking for 5 minutes or until zucchini has soften.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  At this point you can set aside the filling to refrigerate for a few days or freeze.  If you are going to eat soon, pour the filling into a deep pie dish, cover with a thin layer of cheese, and then top with the cornbread.  Bake for  15-25 minutes, until cornbread is golden and a knife is removed cleanly.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Cornbread Topping
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon butter, melted and cooled

Mix flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.  In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk and egg together.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until combined.  Add the butter.  I used a 1 inch cookie scooper to evenly add the topping to the pie and then spread it out.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cornbread is golden brown and a knife comes out clean.  Let sit for 10 minutes and then slice and serve.  We had ours with a side of sauteed baby kale.