Students learned how to make sweet and savory tamales during a hands-on cooking class with Chef Paul Blanco on Thursday.
The tamale-making class wrapped up ASI Beach Kitchen’s series for Latinx Heritage Month, which aimed to highlight various cultural recipes throughout September and October.
Blanco delved into the vast history of the dish, which is believed to have been eaten by Aztec warriors as they prepared for battle over ten thousand years ago.
The eight attendees helped Blanco prepare masa, a corn flour used for the base of the tamales. Yams were mixed into some batches for a sweet twist.
After students spread masa on the corn husks, they were able to customize their savory tamales with fillings like mozzarella cheese and poblano peppers. Blanco said that other common additions include beef, chicken and pork.
Attendees experimented with the creation of their salsas, adding extra serrano and habanero peppers to ramp up the heat. Various mild, medium, hot and extra hot salsas were made to enjoy with their tamales.
Third-year business administration major Enrique Martinez attended the class to socialize with other students and learn about the history of the dish. Martinez enjoyed cooking tamales and preparing the salsa alongside Blanco.
“The dish has a connection with my culture,” Martinez said. “It [the cooking class] actually gets other students a chance to experience other cultures, foods and cooking overall.”
As a chef with 25 years of experience, Blanco has taught over ten classes at ASI Beach Kitchen in addition to running his own culinary business. He hopes that students were able to gain insight into Latinx culture through the hands-on cooking class.
“Everybody that’s Hispanic knows what tamales are and everybody has their own versions,” Blanco said. “It is a very festive and deep-seated cultural meal.”
Blanco hopes that the school continues to promote different cultures to build community throughout the campus.
“When you eat together, it’s like going into someone’s living room where you’re socializing and getting to know one another on a more intimate level,” Blanco said.
ASI Beach Kitchen volunteer Ashley Moreno believes the series has helped elevate Latinx culture on campus and educate students on traditional dishes.
“Many of us have grown up seeing how tamales are made but we’ve never actually made it ourselves,” Moreno said. “I think this is a great opportunity for us to learn.”
ASI will continue to host events with Sustain U this semester, including instructional classes on preparing spiced chickpea Buddha bowls and hummus pita pizzas.