Chilean · main

Pastel de Choclo

Pastel de Choclo reads sweetness 4.7, salinity 4.2 and richness 3.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chilean main, about 2 hr 2 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 4.7 · Salinity 4.2 · Richness 3.6 · Umami 3.4 · Fruity 3.2 · Allium 2.4 · Smoke 2.4 · Funk & Ferment 2.0 · Earthy 1.8 · Herbaceous 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.8 · Bitterness 1.5 · Heat 1.4 · Sourness 1.0 · Nutty 0.7 · Floral 0.7

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 2 hr 2 min (1 hr 50 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 100.5 kcal, 7.5 g protein, 5.6 g fat, 5.4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

  1. Pastel de choclo is corn pudding baked over a meat filling, in individual black clay bowls called pailas de greda, and it is summer food in the Chilean central valley. Two things separate it from every gratin it resembles: basil cooked into the corn, and a dusting of sugar on top that caramelises into a brittle lid.
  2. Make the pino first. Cook the onion in the lard over medium heat for 15 minutes until completely soft and starting to go golden — very fine dice and long patience, because in Chile the pino should be more onion than beef by volume. Add the cumin and merkén and cook 2 minutes.
  3. Merkén is smoked, sun-dried and ground ají cacho de cabra with toasted coriander seed and salt, made by Mapuche producers in the Araucanía. It is not chipotle and it is not paprika; it is smokier than one and hotter than the other. It is widely sold online and in Latin specialists, and it is the single most identifiable seasoning in Chilean cooking.
  4. Raise the heat, add the beef and cook 8 minutes, breaking it up, until it has browned and released and reabsorbed its juices. Season with half the salt. Let it cool a little; a wet pino makes a soggy pastel.
  5. For the corn topping, blend the raw kernels with the basil to a coarse purée. Cook it with the milk and the rest of the salt in a wide pan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 12 to 15 minutes, until it thickens into a mass that holds the mark of the spoon and pulls slightly from the side of the pan. It must be cooked to this point — undercooked, it stays raw-tasting and watery and will split in the oven.
  6. Divide the pino between four pailas or one large baking dish. Lay a chicken thigh, egg slices, olives and raisins over it, then spread the corn on top to a depth of 3 cm and smooth it.
  7. Dust the surface evenly with the icing sugar and bake at 200 C for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is set and blistered and there are dark caramel patches. If it is pale, give it 3 minutes under the grill and watch it.
  8. Rest 10 minutes before serving — it is molten inside — and warn people about the olive stones, which are traditionally left in.
  9. Substitutions: butter can stand in for the lard.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.