Instead of spending hours wrapping shredded meat and masa dough in a corn husk, you can layer the filling and masa dough in a pan and bake it. Genius, right? I made my own paleo version by creating a flavorful chili-like filling with ground turkey, Tex-Mex sausage, and spices, and topped it with a grain-free dough. I added the pumpkin puree to the dough because it needed something to keep it moist, and I happened to have an open can of pumpkin in the fridge. But I think it was destiny—I love how the pumpkin blends with Tex-Mex flavors!
Prep time 30 minutes
Serves 6
For the filling:
2 tablespoons (29 ml) avocado oil
11/2 pounds (680 g) ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup (160 g) diced onion
2 links of precooked Tex-Mex style sausage or chorizo, diced
1 15-ounce (425 g) can tomato sauce
1 cup (260 g) salsa
For the topping:
1 cup (96 g) almond flour
1/2 cup (64 g) tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon (15 g) chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
3 tablespoons (42 g) solid coconut oil
1 egg
1/2 cup (123 g) pumpkin puree
1 Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet and add the ground turkey. Cook, stirring to break the meat into small chunks, for 6 to 8 minutes, until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a 4-quart (3.8 liter) slow cooker.
2 Add the salt, cumin, chili powder, onion, sausage, tomato sauce, and salsa to the cooker. Stir well.
3 For the topping, combine the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne powder in a food processor. Pulse a few times to blend. Add the coconut oil and pulse several times until the oil breaks into pieces and the mixture resembles wet sand.
4 Add the egg and pumpkin puree, and pulse until a loose dough forms.
5 Spoon the dough over the turkey mixture.
6 Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until topping is cooked through. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
7 Serve hot.
