Guatemalan Paches Tamales

Paches are Guatemalan tamales made with potato masa instead of corn masa, filled with meat in recado and wrapped in banana leaf.

They’re typical of the Quetzaltenango (Xela) region and very traditionally eaten on Thursdays, a day many Guatemalan families associate with this dish.

Guatemalan Paches Tamales

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• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 12 pieces
• Category: Main Course
• Cuisine: Guatemalan

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1.5 kg of potato, cooked and mashed (about 3.3 lb)
• 1/2 cup of lard
• 1/4 cup of rice flour or cornstarch (to add body) (optional)
• 1 kg of pork and/or chicken, cooked, in pieces (about 2.2 lb)
• 4 of tomatoes, roasted
• 2 of pasilla chiles, toasted and soaked
• 1 of onion, roasted
• 3 cloves of garlic, roasted
• 1 tablespoon of achiote (annatto)
• 2 of bell peppers, in strips
• to taste of salt
• 12 of banana leaves, for wrapping

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Instructions

1. Make the mash, make a smooth mash with the cooked potato.
2. Make the recado, blend the roasted tomatoes, soaked chiles, onion, garlic, and achiote until smooth.
3. Combine, mix the potato mash with the melted lard and part of the blended recado, adding the rice flour if you want more body.
4. Cook the masa, cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, until it thickens.
5. Prepare the leaves, pass the banana leaves over a flame to make them more pliable.
6. Assemble the paches, place a portion of potato masa on each leaf, add a piece of meat and a strip of bell pepper.
7. Wrap, close each pache into a well-sealed rectangular packet.
8. Steam, steam the paches for 60 to 90 minutes, until the masa is firm.
9. Serve, serve hot, inside the same leaf.

Tips for getting it right

• The potato masa should be very smooth before mixing with the recado, to avoid lumps.
• Paches stand out from other Guatemalan tamales precisely for using potato instead of corn as their base.
• It’s traditional in Guatemala to eat paches on Thursdays, though they’re also made for other occasions.
• Passing the banana leaves over a flame makes them more pliable and easier to fold.

Traditional variations

• They’re typical of the Quetzaltenango (Xela) region, though eaten throughout the country.
• Some families add peas or carrot to the filling.

How to serve

Paches are served hot, inside the same banana leaf they were cooked in.

They’re traditionally eaten on Thursdays in many Guatemalan families.

Recommended sides

• French bread
• Coffee

Did you know?

Paches are among the few Guatemalan tamales made with potato instead of corn masa.

There’s a custom of eating paches specifically on Thursdays in several regions of Guatemala, especially Quetzaltenango.