Joshua has fallen in love with a Chilean dish called Pastel de Choclo. It reminds him of a corn chowder he used to have during Thanksgiving. Luckily, it was one of the dishes we prepared in our Chilean Cooking Class with Boris. This dish is rather sweet, but filled with savory ingredients. You know it’s ready once the top becomes carmelized, almost like a creme brulee. The interior should be moist, but not soupy.
Ingredients:
Serves 4
4.5 lbs of frozen corn kernels- pulse in a processor until finely chopped.
½ oven-roasted chicken, without bones
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup of milk
1 ½ hard-boiled eggs, quartered
7 fresh basil leaves, minced
A few raisins per dish
One olive per dish
Salt
For the beef filling:
400 grams ground beef
1 large onion
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon cumin
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
Salt and pepper
Preparation:
Heat the processed corn, chopped basil, salt and butter in a large pot. Add the milk little by little, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.
Cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Leave to one side while you prepare the meat filling. Fry the onions in oil until transparent, add the ground meat and stir until brown. Season the mixture with salt, pepper and ground cumin.
To prepare the pie use an oven-proof dish that you can take to the table. Spread the meat mixture along the bottom of the dish. Arrange the hard-boiled egg pieces, chicken, olive and raisins over and around the meat.
Cover the filling with the corn mixture. Sprinkle the top with enough sugar to caramelize.
Bake in a hot oven 400F for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Serve immediately.
Boris and I can only handle a little bit at a time!
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