PORK TAMALE PIE WITH CORNBREAD CRUST

    

 
Superbowl is coming and if you are planning a party at your house, here's a great hearty dish that can be prepared partly in advance and needs just a few minutes to complete on the big day.  No Superbowl party?  Make it for the family - it's just the thing for these wintry days!

PORK TAMALE PIE WITH CORNBREAD CRUST

Ingredients:

For the Pork Mixture:               
1 cup chopped onion               
1 cup chopped green bell pepper           
2 tablespoons vegetable oil          
1 1/2 lbs. leftover cooked pork, or          
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground pork          
12 ounce can tomato sauce          
2 tablespoons tomato paste           
10 ounce package frozen corn, thawed       
1 tablespoon ground cumin           
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice           
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco or to taste
1 Tablespoon yellow cornmeal

For the Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
4 ounce can chopped green chili peppers, drained

1. Make the pork mixture:  in a large skillet, cook the onion and pepper in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, add the ground pork if using, and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until the pork is no longer pink.  Otherwise, simply add the chopped cooked pork and mix.  Stir in the tomato sauce,  tomato paste,  corn, cumin, allspice, chili powder and Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of the Tabasco, cornmeal, and salt and black pepper to taste, simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, and add  additional Tabasco, if desired.  Spoon the mixture into a shallow 2 1/2 quart casserole.  The mixture may be made 1 day in advance and kept, covered and chilled.

2.  Make the topping:  Into a bowl sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder.  Add the butter, milk and egg and stir the batter until it is just combined.  Stir in the Monterey Jack and the chili pepper and drop the batter by large spoonfuls around the edge of the casserole.  Bake the potpie in the middle of a preheated 400º oven for 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 350º and bake 30 minutes more.

Serves 6.