Gluten-Free Tamale Pie

I catered the lunch for my oldest son’s bar mitzvah. It was an interesting experience that I can only compare to my own bar mitzvah many years ago: fun, exciting, harrowing, and with no desire to do it a second time. One of the most successful dishes at the bar mitzvah lunch was my Tamale Pie. I am very proud of this recipe; it is both vegetarian and gluten-free, which was necessary because we had friends with Celiac disease attending the lunch. I know the dish was successful because no one said to me, "You know, this isn't bad for gluten-free vegetarian food."

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup carrot
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup prepared picante
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 3 cups cooked pinto beans
• 1 cup masa flour
• 1 cup corn meal
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby or Cojack cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Finely chop the onion, green pepper, and carrot. Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Mix in the tomato sauce, picante, chili powder, and beans and cook for another 5 minutes on low to medium heat. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, mix together masa flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the egg, oil, and milk. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix together.

Spray a 9” x 14” glass baking dish with cooking spray and spread 1/3 of the corn meal mixture to make a thin layer that covers the entire bottom of the baking dish. Bake the thin layer for 3-5 minutes, just until firm.

Remove from the oven, sprinkle the shredded cheese on the bottom crust, add the beans, and spread the remaining corn meal mixture over the beans. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the cornbread covering is firm. Serves 12.