Pastel de Choclo

Posted by Lisa on November 6th, 2005 — Posted in Misc

I have decided that once a week, I’m going to try to make a chilean dish for dinner. Last night, was my first attempt. On Friday, on our way home from Chapilca, we stopped in the town of Vicuna for lunch. Vicuna is a neat little town in the valley Elqui, that has a beautiful square, and some nice artisan shops around the square. It also has an interesting bug museum, I am told. At the restaurant, one of the women ordered Pastel de Choclo, which is corn and meat pie, a traditional chilean dish served at most restaurants. It looked and smelled amazing, and I decided that I should make it for Steve. It was easy to make, and tasted very good. It’s a little sweet (because of the confectioner sugar sprinkled on top), but all the tastes blend together well. In Chile, when you order this dish, they give you a side of sugar to sprinkle over the pastel as it is eaten.

Pastel de Choclo

6 large ears corn, grate the kernels
4 fresh basil leaves chopped
1 t salt
1/2 – 1 cup milk
3 large onions chopped
3 T oil
1 lb ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1t ground cumin
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 c. black olives
1 c. raisins
12 pieces chicken, browned in hot oil with salt, pepper and cumin. I used a package of chicken breasts, I think around a pound and a half and cubed and browned them
2 T confectioner sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a med. pot, heat the grated corn, chopped basil, salt, and butter. Add the milk little by little stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Cook over low heat for 5 min. Leave to side, while preparing meat mixture
3. Fry onions in oil until transparent, add ground beef, brown meat, season with salt, pepper, and cumin.
4. Brown chicken in oil and season with salt, pepper and cumin
5. To prepare pie use over proof dish that you can take to table ( I used a 9×13 dish) spread bottom of dish with beef and onions, then place sliced egg, olives and raisins (I omitted olives). Put the chicken on top (I think traditionally, Chileans use chicken on the bone, brown it, and pull the meat off).
6. Cover with corn mixture. Sprinkle with confectioner sugar.
7. Bake at 400 for 30-35 min, until crust is golden brown.
8. Eat and enjoy!!!!

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