Black Bean Chorizo Tamales

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I like making tamales. Sure, they are a bit labor intensive, but always fun and tasty. Unwrapping a tamale is like unwrapping a tasty little present. VB would know -- he wolfed these down in super human speed. Here, I made tamales with Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo and some black beans. Totally delicious and definitely worth the time and effort.

You'll need:

• 2 cups masa harina flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 package dried corn husks
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
• 1 portion of black bean chorizo filling, recipe below

For the black bean chorizo filling, you'll need:

• 1 package soy chorizo product (El Burrito's Soyrizo, Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo or other similar products), plastic casing removed
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, small diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• salt to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Turn off heat and soak corn husks for 15 minutes. Make sure the husks are immersed completely. Remove husks and set aside.

Cream vegetable shortening in a stand mixer. Turn off mixer. Add masa harina flour, salt, cumin, chili powder, baking powder and mix well together in medium low speed. While the mixer is on, stream in vegetable stock slowly. The mixture should be thick but spreadable.

In a medium non-stick skillet, begin sauteing onions in canola oil until translucent, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add garlic, black bean, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Lightly mash black beans with spatula or back of a spoon. Add soy chorizo mix. Saute for another 5 minutes. Check seasoning. Soy chorizo tends to be packaged with enough salt and spices that you don't necessarily need to add more salt.

To assemble tamales, lay out a corn husk, spread an even layer masa mix across the middle. You should leave at least 4 inches at the bottom. Top masa mix with black bean chorizo mix and some cheese. Fold corn husk over length-wise. Be sure that your masa mixture wraps around the filling completely. Then fold the bottom up. The top of the husk should be open. Steam covered for 45 minutes to an hour. I steamed them by placing a metal steamer inside a large pot with about an inch of water and then placed tamales onto the steamer. Remember to make sure that you have enough water throughout the steaming process. Serve with your favorite salsa on top.