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Lentil Skillet Tamale Pie ~~ Cooking with Cast Iron ~~

1/21/2016

"Cast iron; noun
1. a hard, relatively brittle alloy of iron and carbon that can be readily cast in a mold and contains a higher proportion of carbon than steel.
2. firm and unchangeable"

It took a few years of buying new frying pans every spring to realize that the coating that was coming off was going into our food and we were consuming what ever it was made of. Given the round of scientific evidence that that "stuff" wasn't healthy we decided to dig out our cast iron pans that had been sorely neglected from the back of our cabinet, and stop throwing away money on frying pans every year. Since then we have added a few new pieces to our cast iron collection.

Cast iron pans have been around a LOONNNG time! I just read about a piece that was around since the early 1800's. That is a sturdy piece of cook ware, going beyond an antique and passing into the realm of heirloom. A lovely thought to think that the same cookware I'm using now might just be used by my great-grand children. Something that won't disappear with inflation, wear out or be obsolete. Along with its long lasting life cast iron has a reputation for cooking foods evenly because the heat spreads evenly around the pan. It heats up fast and retains its heat so that foods cook up much better. But alas I could go on and on about the benefits of cast iron, you all are here for the recipe! ;-)

Oh and before we go any further... a little disclaimer: Links contained in this post may contain affiliate links. What that means… if anyone purchases something via that link we get a little bit of that which helps this blog and our farm run. We thank you for your purchase and supporting our life #downonthefarm!

Lentil Tamale Pie in the
Cast Iron Skillet

Serve's a hearty crew of 8-10 OR enough for lunch tomorrow
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

Yankee Cornbread Crust:
(From Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book)
3 tbl. butter, melted
2 tbl. honey
2 cups buttermilk
(or sub reg. milk/ dairy free with 2 tsp. lemon juice set for 5 minutes)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cups cornmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder, aluminum free
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Lentil Filling:
2 tbl. Olive Oil
3 cups dried lentils (or 6 cups canned equivalent)
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, diced
1 cup dried tomatoes
home dried, sun dried or 2 c. canned died tomatoes- cut liquid by 1 cup)
6 cups water
2 tsp. veggie broth powder
(we dehydrated our own but bouillon cubes would work or sub veggie broth and cut liquid)
2-3 tbl. garlic powder
2-3 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 tsp. cayanne powder
1 tsp. paprika powder
1 tsp. dried oregano

In the pressure cooker (or which ever pot you are going to cook your lentils in: dutch oven, soup pot ect. These directions pertain to using the pressure cooker.) heat 2 tbl. olive oil. Dice your onion and garlic and sauté until the garlic is lightly brown and the onions are translucent.

Add your dried beans, spices, dried tomatoes and liquid. Place pressure cooker lid on, turn stove on high heat and bring pressure cooker to high pressure. The little yellow button should pop up and when it does (it might take 10 minutes) turn your pressure cooker down to medium heat to maintain pressure. Cook for about 10 - 12 minutes. Release pressure gradually. When pressure has come down check to make sure there is not too much liquid left in the lentils and that they are done cooking. They should be soft but not too mushy and just a little liquid left. If there is too much liquid its ok to simmer them with the lid off until it is reduced. Make sure to watch them so they don't burn and to stir frequently.

Now would be a good time to melt the butter for the cornbread so that its not too hot when you are ready to use it (don't ask me how I know ;) ). Using a small pan, perhaps cast iron like this one, melt 3 tbl. butter at low heat (subbing coconut oil here for a vegan sub. would work great). We chose to use some freshly shaken butter the children made from whipping cream in this recipe. The buttermilk and butter is pictured in the jar there above. It won't take long to melt the butter so keep an eye on it. Yes this could be done in the microwave at a few seconds but we prefer the healthier benefits of cast iron in our microwave free farm kitchen.

In a medium to small bowl beat the 2 large eggs. This day we were blessed with eggs from down on the farm as our hens started laying these lovely BRIGHT YELLOW yokes again. The picture doesn't do them justice. To these eggs add 2 cups of buttermilk and beat evenly. We used our home made buttermilk from the butter above. If one doesn't have buttermilk any milk (dairy or dairy-free) can be used with 1-2 tsp of lemon juice to curdle it. Let it sit about 5 minutes before using.

If your butter has cooled off a bit add your honey to it and mix throughly. Add this mixture to your egg and buttermilk mixture. Mix well.

While your lentils are cooling off a bit grease your cast iron pan. We just used some olive oil here because its hand. Butter, lard, coconut oil all work. This skillet isn't seasoned really well so there is plenty of oil on it! This is a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet, similar to this one here.

We freshly ground our corn meal and whole wheat so if you are doing the same now would be the time to grind your grain. (Read up on Milling at Home here and checkout the Nutrimill!) Measure out 1 3/4 cups of cornmeal and 1 cup of whole wheat flour into a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the 3/4 tsp salt, we prefer Realsalt. Also add 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.

Add half of your cornbread mixture to the bottom of your greased cast iron skillet. Next, gently place your lentil mixture on top, spreading evenly around the cornbread filling. It will push up the cornmeal a bit and that is ok.

Next, top your lentils with the rest of the cornbread mixture spreading it evenly around. The layer won't be very thick but it comes out just right in the end.

Last but not least, place your Lentil Skillet Tamale Pie in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Test corn bread for doneness with a tooth pick. Cut and serve all those hungry people! We had plenty left for lunch the next day. A rather affordable meal for our family of 6. serve with your favorite green salad!