Tamal de Olla is a traditional Panamanian recipe for a classic dish of chicken, bell peppers, capers and olives in a wine and tomato base that's blended with polenta and finished by baking. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Panamanian version of: Tamal de Olla.
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Ingredients:
500g par-cooked polenta
1 small chicken, jointed and cut into pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp adobo seasoning
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tsp annatto oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp capers, chopped
15 green olives, sliced
2 x 240g tins tomato purée
125ml red wine vinegar
250ml red wine
1 hot chilli pepper (typically scotch bonnet) minced (remove the seeds and membranes for a milder effect)
Method:
Place the chicken in a bowl, season with salt and black pepper then scatter over the adobo seasoning. Rub the spices into the chicken then cover and set aside to marinate for 1 hour.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Once hot add the annatto oil and use to fry the onion, bell peppers and garlic for about 4 minutes, or until the onions are soft. Increase the heat to medium, add the chicken pieces and fry until browned all over. At this point add the wine and vinegar a little at a time until fully incorporated.
Stir in the tomato purée until dissolved into the sauce then reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chilli, cover the pan and cook for 90 minutes. Ten minutes before the 90 minutes are due to be up, add the capers and olives to the chicken mixture. At the end of the cooking time, take the pan off the heat. Remove the chicken and set aside until it can be handled. Remove 60ml of the sauce and set aside.
Once the chicken can be handled, remove the skin and de-bone then chop the meat into bite sized pieces. Return these to the pot with the sauce.
In the meantime, pre-heat your oven to 180C then prepare the polenta according to the package instructions, but using 180ml water and the reserved 60ml of chicken cooking liquid. Once the polenta is done, stir into the chicken mixture (this is now your tamal).
Turn the tamal into a baking dish and transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.
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