Typical Costa Rican Tamales for Christmas

Ingredients:

2 ½ kg of banana leaves
1 kg of corn flour
½ kg pork post Tamales Típicos de Costa Rica para Navidad
½ kg of green beans, cooked
4 cups mashed potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup lard
1 cup rice, cooked to taste with achiote
6 chicken broth envelopes
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 sweet peppers, cut into strips
1 cilantro roll
1 chicken breast
1 celery stalk
1 thyme sprig
1 hot pepper
1 carrot, cooked and sliced
1 can petit pois
1 wick roll
Salt and ground cumin to taste

Preparing:

Cook pork with garlic, thyme, celery, hot peppers and salt.
Remove meat from broth and crumbled.
Reserve the broth and strain.

Cook chicken in a little oil with achiote, hot peppers, cilantro and broth.

Separately, mix well in a pot corn flour with the mashed potatoes, oil, lard, chicken broth, salt, a little chicken and meat broth and any other condiment of your choice.

Trim the leaves and wash them well.

Place a big tablespoon of dough on two banana leaves.
Add a spoonful of rice, a piece of meat, a piece of chicken, 2 carrots slices, 1 strip of pepper, 2 green beans, petit pois, a sprig of cilantro and any other ingredients you want.

Wrap each tamale well, leaving no or too tight or too loose.
Join 2 tamales and wrap them well.
Cook in boiling water for 45 minutes.

* Reserve a bit of pork and chicken broth to the end, if the mass that gives very dry.
* The dough should be well mixed and wet, if it becomes too dry the tamal can be hard.

Sweet Potato Trees for Christmas

Ingredients:

1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cookedArbolitos de Camote para la cena de Navidad
90 g butter
½ onion, finely chopped
1 envelope chicken broth
Pomegranate seeds
Parsley

Preparing:

Mash the cooked sweet potato.

Fry the onion in butter.
Add sweet potato puree and seasoned with chicken broth.
Place the puree into a pastry bag to form trees.
Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

Ingredients:
1 kg sweet potato, peeled and cooked
90 g butter
½ onion, finely chopped
1 envelope chicken broth
Pomegranate seeds
Parsley
Preparing:
Mash the cooked sweet potato.
Fry the onion in butter.
Add sweet potato puree and seasoned with chicken broth.
Place the puree into a pastry bag to form trees.
Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

Poatato and White Wine Cream

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp white wine
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Preparing:

Cook potatoes along with the milk, onion and butter for 20 minutes.
Liquefy the mixture and return to the heat.

Add the white wine, cream, salt and pepper.
Cook for 20 more minutes.