In Ecuador, some tamales are made using banana leaves in lieu of corn husks. Banana leaves infuse a sweet flavor into the food being cooked inside. These leaves also provide an environmentally-friendly food container!

I remember when I moved to the United States over a decade age, banana leaves were almost impossible to find — especially in Oklahoma, which was my first home for a number of years.  Back then, there were so many foods I craved that I couldn’t make!  These days, banana leaves are relatively easy to find; they come packaged and frozen in a bag, and you can locate them in either the frozen food section, or in the frozen Hispanic food aisle. Banana leaves are quite long, so in order to make the tamales, I cut them into smaller squares. You will most likely end with several leaves left over, so just freeze them until your next tamal adventure.

One of my favorite features of this cabbage and spinach tamal is that it has a souffle-like texture. These tamales are made with eggs, which are separated, and the egg whites are whipped into a light meringue. The beaten egg whites are then folded into the rest of the mixture, wrapped in the leaf and then steam-cooked.  The result is a fluffy, flavorful, meatless tamal. 

I love eating these either as a light snack or even for breakfast with a cup of cafe negro.

Cabbage and Spinach Tamales (Tamales de Col y Espinacas)

  • 4 cups firmly packed shredded cabbage
  • 2 cups firmly packed fresh spinach, end stalks removed
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 4 ounces crumbled queso blanco
  • 1 tablespoon red onion, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cap-full of vinegar
  • 1 package banana leaves
  • extra queso blanco for filling

Click here for the full recipe.