Chipotle Tamale Pie

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Grief is a lot like a skinned knee. It hurts so much at the beginning, when it first happens. But then, as the days go on, it continues. You think the worst is over, but as time passes, it almost becomes worse. As the skin, and your heart, try to heal, there still is a lot of pain. 

I miss so many things about the loved ones that we lost, but what I miss most was our gatherings. I miss feeding them. I miss talking with them. I miss hearing them laugh. I just miss them. When I look around the dinner table I still feel a big empty space where each of them used to sit. My mom’s chair will be forever hers, and my son’s will remain his. They are just not here to fill them. 

This year I am going to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead, for the first time. Traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, this is a time to celebrate and honor those who have left us. Our family will gather for a remembrance dinner, and I will try setting up my first ofrenda, a special offering, or altar, to help keep their memories alive.

Filled with food, candles, and personal items, ofrendas are meant to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the world of the living. Ofrendas typically include four elements. Earth – represented by food, such as pan de los muertos (bread of the dead). Wind – represented by paper banners moving in the air. Fire – represented by a candle’s flame. And water – represented by a glass, or pitcher, of water. Marigolds are often included, as are candy sugar skulls. 

Your ofrenda doesn’t have to be elaborate at all. Gather some of your loved one’s favorite things: a favorite food, or items that they loved. Whatever reminds you of them.  Ofrendas always include photographs, so be sure to include a photo. For your celebration, serve traditional foods such as tamales, mole, camotes (sweet potatoes), and chayotes (squash). 

This Chipotle Tamale Pie is warm and welcoming. Easy enough to make on a weeknight, you can even let kids help with adding the ingredients, mixing and stirring. It’s perfect for sharing, served family style and spooned directly from the baking dish. Not too spicy, but topped with fluffy, golden brown cornbread, it’s a great dish for gathering. And it’s what I’m making for Dia de Los Muertos.   

Rather than using an 8-inch baking dish, I used a 10.25-inch cast iron skillet. If you do this, you can cook and bake everything in one dish, making your meat filling on the stovetop and then adding the cornbread batter before you put it in the oven. I liked that this recipe used ground turkey, but you could certainly swap in ground beef or chicken, or swap in lentils to make this plant-based. 

The recipe calls for regular cheddar cheese, but I used a bag of shredded Reduced-Fat Lite Mexican Style Cheese Blend from Trader Joe’s to keep it on the healthy side. Once your filling is fully cooked, go ahead and try a forkful so that you can adjust the seasonings if you like, before you add the cornbread. 

Be sure to follow the directions on your cornbread mix. I used a 20-ounce package of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix because I wanted to make this gluten-free. It needed 1 1/2 cups milk, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup of melted butter or oil, instead of what is called for in the recipe below. It made more than enough, so I used the extra to make a few corn muffins. The top of my pie wasn’t very brown, so I set the oven to broil and let it stay in a few minutes longer, watching closely, until it was nicely golden.

Host your departed and invite your loved ones home to be with you by celebrating Dia de los Muertos. 

Chipotle Tamale Pie

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound, lean ground turkey
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 8-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 4-ounce can fire roasted diced green chiles
• 2 chipotle chiles, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, from can chipotle in adobo
• 1 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 8.5-ounce package cornbread mix 
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• taco sauce, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, optional for serving 

Preheat oven to 400º F. Grease an 8-inch baking dish with the butter and set aside. Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey, onions, green peppers, and garlic and cook until turkey is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat, then sprinkle meat mixture with cumin. 

Add beans, diced tomatoes, green chiles, chipotle chiles and adobo sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in the cheese and cilantro. 

Spread turkey mixture in the prepared baking dish, pressing down on it with the back of the spoon to make an even, compact layer. Combine the cornbread mix with egg and milk. Spread cornbread batter over the turkey mixture and bake until cornbread is golden-brown, 20-25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serve with taco sauce, salsa, sour cream, or guacamole, if desired. 

-recipe by Ingrid Hoffman