Make thin corn-meal pancakes six inches across. Dip one in hot chile sauce, lay on a plate and cover with raw onion chopped fine, grated cheese and stoned olives cut in half. Lay on this six other pancakes, each dipped in the chile sauce and covered with the onion, cheese and olives. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and set in a hot oven for a few minutes. Serve hot, cutting like layer-cake.
TAMALES
Tamales are a mixture of meat or fowl made hot with chiles and wrapped in corn-husks. In preparing the dough or nixtamal, unless scalded meal is used for a substitute, it is necessary to prepare the shelled corn with lime-water. The Mexicans grind the corn prepared in this way, on the metate, and instead of a mortar use the molcajete and lejolote.
To prepare the corn, cover it with water, add the lime-water and boil until the husks slip off easily between the fingers, then wash in cold water until perfectly white. The lime-water is made by adding an ounce of common lime to a quart of water; stir well and let settle; when clear, drain off the water for use. One quart of lime-water prepared in this way will do for a pound of corn. For the wrapping, cut off the inside leaves of the corn-husks about an inch from the stalk end and boil in clear water until perfectly clean. Tear a few in narrow strips to use for tying the ends; dry the rest and rub them over with a cloth dipped in hot lard.