Whenever my wife and I head into a store, the sudden urge to make something down home and familiar grabs us, just like it did yesterday when we were checking out the ethnic food aisle in my mothers neighborhood Stop & Shop.We of course were going past the “Spanish” section, when I noticed a grain mill,(Molino) and my wife was saying how much she wanted to eat humitas! Being holy week you kind of crave those connotative special things that you eat, for me it’s a spring lamb. We were set just to prepare our traditional gigot de agneau with some roasted vegetables and potatoes. Now with my wife recruiting me and my mother to labor over the filling of corn husks with masa of fresh ground corn and some fresh cheese with scallions, well it’s going to be a long day, but worth it!

Humitas:
Makes about 25 humitas, depending on size of corn husks

8 ears of corn (shelled)
2 cups of Andean corn or corn flour if you can’t find a good Latin market in your barrio!
6 eggs separate the yolks and whites
21/2 tsp of baking powder
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp sugar
2-3 tsp baking powder
80z melted butter
8oz of fresh curd cheese, mozzarella is ok, but look for some latin cheese if possible
1 bag of dried corn husks

Puree or ground the corn in either a molino or a food processor until finely ground. Add butter, egg yolks,baking powder,salt,sugar and cheese.Mix until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer into a large bowl: Meanwhile whip egg whites until soft peaks form, fold in half into the dough mix till almost completely absorbed, finish with the other half.
Assembling Humitas:
overlap two leaves and fill with a 1/2 cup of filling on the lower half of the husks and fold over the sides to meet in the middle and tie off the tops with either string or with a piece of extra husks.
Steaming:
Place the finished humitas in a large steamer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes until firm to touch.
Some of us like our humitas with hot sauce, but to avoid being sneered at or told Yanquis go home, just enjoy it with a good pot of coffee and just sneak some hot sauce like I do!