Fall Comfort in a Bowl: Blue Owl’s Hot Tamale Soup Made Simple

 

Lately I’ve been paging through cookbooks from area restaurants — both past and present — and finding some wonderful recipes that are new to me. Today’s comes from the Blue Owl Restaurant in Kimmswick, Missouri, as published in their Treasures from the Heart Cookbook.

 The Blue Owl has a charming story. Mary Hostetter began baking from her home kitchen in 1983. By the 1984 holiday season she was filling more than 30,000 Christmas cookie orders, working 21-hour days. In 1985 she took over the restaurant in the historic river town of Kimmswick (the building had been restored by Lucianna Gladney-Ross, the 7UP heiress often called the matriarch of Kimmswick). 

What started as a country tearoom grew into a destination known for homemade comfort food and, most famously, its pies. The towering Levee High Apple Pie, created after the Great Flood of 1993 and packed with about 18 apples, has been featured by the Food Network, the Today Show, Forbes, and more. Today the restaurant continues under Mary’s daughter Kim Byerly and her husband Dan, still serving those legendary pies alongside hearty meals.

 The house filled with the most wonderful aroma as this luscious Hot Tamale Soup simmered while I went about my chores, which was exactly what I wanted on a fall day.

 A few practical notes and swaps: Use 90% or 80% lean ground beef. It makes a real difference and rarely needs draining, which eliminates an extra step. If you don’t have a fresh red bell pepper, reach for the roasted red peppers from Melissa’s Produce that come in a jar (I’ve been talking about them for more than a decade. Same with garlic: two fresh cloves are ideal, but Melissa’s minced garlic is a convenient pantry staple I’ve relied on since I began this blog in 2010.) I was out of frozen corn kernels (as well as canned corn) — don’t ask me why — but had creamed corn on hand for Caribbean cornbread (which I made to go alongside), so I used that. Use whatever corn you have. There is no salt in the recipe and I thought this dish needed some, so I added ½ t. seasoned salt.

 I allowed it to simmer twice as long as the recipe indicated because I wanted my soup a bit thicker. 

Hot Tamale Soup

 1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 T. chili powder

2 t. ground cumin

½ t. cayenne pepper

Pinch of ground cinnamon

3 c. canned chicken broth

1 14.5- oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices

12 tamales, 3 oz. each

1 15.5-oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1 c. frozen corn kernels

Shredded cheddar

Sour cream

 Cook the first 4 ingredients over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat until browned. Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon and cook 1 minute. Add broth and tomatoes with juices. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

 Meanwhile, heat the tamales according to package instructions. Stir beans and corn into the soup. Simmer until the corn is just heated through, about 3 minutes. Place 2 tamales into each of 6 bowls. Ladle soup into the bowls.

 Sprinkle with cheese and sour cream and serve.

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