Almost every table ordering tamal for the first time asks the same question before it arrives: «so what is that?».
What it is
Ground corn, cooked slowly and wrapped in its own leaf, with pork inside. Not much more. It is country food, made in quantity because it fed a lot of people with very little.
We serve it with onion on top, which cuts the fat and freshens it up. That part is this house's decision.
Where it comes from
In Cuba the tamal is sold in the street and eaten standing up. Here it arrives on a plate with cutlery, but the recipe is the one made at home before we came over.
Of everything on the menu, it is the dish that has changed least in sixteen years.
It is on the menu all year round.