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.

Turkey Stuffed with Apples for Christmas

Ingredients:

1 turkey, washedPavo Relleno de Manzana para Navidad
6 apples, peeled and diced
4 bunches of celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
90 g butter
4 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Preparing:

Melt butter with garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.
Cover the turkey with butter.

Mix
the apple with celery and season.
Fill the turkey with the previous mixture and arrange the legs so that the stuffing does not get out.

Bake at 220ºC (400ºF) for 40 minutes and serve.

Veal Loin with Orange and Thyme

Ingredients:

8 veal loins
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup red wine
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp orange zest
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp thyme
1 garlic clove, crushed
Salt and pepper

Preparing:

Season the veal loins with mustard, garlic, soy sauce, 1/2 tsp thyme, salt and pepper.
Seal loins in a pan with oil on both sides, remove from pan and reserve.

Add the red wine to the skillet, 1 tbsp thyme, orange zest and let it reduce for a few minutes.
Add the cornstarch dissolved in orange juice and cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve veal with orange sauce and thyme.