Last December I spread masa with over a hundred tamaleros (tamale makers) in three commercial kitchens. Each person came with varying levels of tamale experience, from never making tamales, to expert level. Regardless of the experience level, each cook left with a dozen handsomely wrapped tamales that were good for their health and the planet.

Join Chef Magda and me at Fresh & Fabulous to make what I like to call green water tamales. In other words, the ingredients for these tamales are from farmers and brands striving to use less water by turning there back on chemicals and petroleum-based fertilizers responsible for diminishing the soils ability to hold rain and moisture.

The recipe is from the “Produce and Water” chapter in my book Eat Less Water. Farmer Nelida from Pura Nelida gave me the recipe…sort of. She told me to cook spinach and kale and add to the masa with some cheese. When I set out to make her recipe I knew I wanted to make the masa from scratch. I didn’t want lard or GMO corn in my tamale recipe.

Most people don’t make their cornmeal dough for tamales from scratch. Instead, the modern tamaleros purchase prepared dough (masa preperada), cornmeal dough found pre-made at all Mexican markets during the holiday season. This masa is made with manteca—lots and lots of lard from pigs raised in factory farms.

I succeeded in developing a recipe (with input from good friends and my mom) that is moist, flavorful, and made to save our planet’s most precious natural resource—water.