Pastel de Choclo (Chilean Corn and Beef Casserole) Recipe

In Chile, we are saying that you have not actually had a whole summer time till you’ve eaten pastel de choclo. Served household fashion or in particular person clay bowls, the layers of this beloved Chilean summer time casserole stay the identical: a beneficiant base of pino (conventional Chilean savory beef and onion stew), a scattering of poached rooster items, slices of hard-boiled eggs, raisins, and, historically, exactly one massive pitted black olive per serving. All of that’s topped with a thick layer of pastelera, a basil-kissed corn puree comprised of a much less candy Chilean corn known as humero, although this recipe is designed to work with candy corn since humero is so arduous to seek out within the States. The stew, rooster, and corn puree are all totally cooked previous to meeting, then layered, baked till scorching, effervescent, and frivolously browned on prime. 

Pastel de choclo is by far the heartiest dish we Chileans eat in summer time, usually on weekends in eating places or at household gatherings, each in cities and out within the countryside. It is a heavy and wealthy dish, and is normally served as a essential course accompanied by little greater than a light-weight tomato and onion salad. It must be loved leisurely, taking a minimum of half an hour to complete, at which level all must be prepared for a nap.

There are a number of key necessities to success right here: The meat stew must be thickened to a velvety consistency and studded with juicy items of beef, the rooster should be tender, and the corn puree ought to come out candy and sliceable after baking. Right here I’ve damaged down the recipe into its key parts to show you ways prepare dinner and assemble a nap- and accompanying dream-worthy pastel de choclo at residence.

Perfecting the Pino (Beef Stew)

It’s widespread to seek out pastel de choclo with beef stew made with both finely diced beef or floor beef. The primary possibility is what’s normally present in home made variations, whereas floor beef variations are extra usually served in small eating places and meals markets. Floor beef is, indisputably, the much less laborious possibility (most likely why time-strapped small eating places go for it), and the outcomes are nonetheless nice. Given that you simply additionally must prep the rooster, corn puree, and extra, I additionally go for floor beef in my recipe to maintain the method manageable (but additionally clarify how one can use minced, should you favor).

In my view, utilizing 80% lean floor beef yields a filling that’s not solely simpler to arrange (no knife work required), however with its larger fats content material it’s additionally extra flavorful than the lean cuts of meat usually used as mince within the stew. One disadvantage to utilizing floor beef is that it is extra susceptible to drying out after first searing it after which simmering and baking it; within the worst instances it got here come out with a texture like sandy gravel. To keep away from this, I add baking soda to the meat by whisking it with water and tossing it with the meat earlier than browning. The approach is a recreation changer: The baking soda raises the meat’s pH in order that it stays moist and bouncy throughout cooking and browns superbly.

As I discussed, you may nonetheless make the recipe with diced beef, and I’ve given steerage for the way to take action under the recipe within the notes. If making pino with diced beef at residence, I like to recommend utilizing a minimize of meat corresponding to flat iron or prime blade steak. This differs from most Chileans, preferring even leaner cuts like prime or backside sirloin butt, sirloin tip, or prime or eye of spherical. I discover the upper fats content material in flat iron and prime blade steak ends in a juicier, extra tender filling, whereas leaner cuts produce powerful and dry morsels of meat that lack taste.

The Add-Ins

The commonest variations of this casserole embrace a chunk of poached or roasted rooster in each portion, and whereas I favor to incorporate them these additions aren’t necessary. I go for boneless, skinless rooster thighs since they’re flavorful, stay juicy even with lengthy cooking, and require no deboning. Poaching can also be my most popular cooking technique for the rooster, because it yields essentially the most tender and juicy meat. I like seasoning the poaching water with primary aromatics like onion, carrot, oregano, garlic, and bay leaf to construct a flavorful broth that is useful for the pino. 

The egg must be completely hard-boiled and olives black and as large as attainable; search for the extra salty and impartial varieties, like a Nyon,Niçoise, or Liguiria olive, not bitter or acidic varieties like kalamatas. It’s conventional in Chile so as to add only one olive per portion—discovering the olive is sort of a enjoyable, salty little shock. Lastly, don’t skip the raisins, they’re additionally a part of the traditional recipe and echo the sweetness of the corn topping.

The Corn Puree (Pastelera)

By the tip of spring, when the primary ears of humero corn begin showing within the markets, a typical scene unfolds throughout Chile: Ears of the thick and milky corn are shucked, then grated or floor to make both pastel de choclo or humitas (the identify of Chilean tamales).

The standard approach is to grate the peeled ears towards an enormous, home made grater, which removes a lot of the kernel skins. Humero corn is exclusive to Chile. It’s starchier, much less candy, and has bigger, extra fibrous corn kernels than the candy corn used for cooking within the US. Except you might be in Chile, you gained’t discover humero corn at your native market, so I name for candy corn right here, and have made a number of changes described under to the puree to make sure the feel and taste of pastelera is much like the unique.  

Begin with browned butter. In one in all my assessments, I unintentionally browned the butter through which the corn is cooked. I made a decision to proceed anyhow after which, after I tasted it, I yelled the equal to eureka! in Chilean slang: “chanfle!” I stay for these pleased accidents within the kitchen. It’s no large secret that browned butter improves the flavour of nicely, virtually all the things, however right here the nutty, caramelized milk solids within the butter deepened the flavour of the puree, really mimicking the extra advanced taste of the humero corn selection utilized in Chile. 

Use a Blender. Since American candy corn is extra delicate and its pores and skin significantly thinner, there was no must grate the corn to chop and separate the kernel skins, like when utilizing humero corn. Merely processing it in a excessive efficiency blender yields an ideal consequence with quite a bit much less effort and mess. 

Add cornstarch. As talked about, humero corn has extra starch than candy corn, and when it’s pureed and cooked that further pure starch thickens it extra. Including a small quantity of cornstarch will make up for the dearth of it in American candy corn. I added the smallest quantity wanted, however in case you are utilizing recent corn in the beginning of the season that has larger water content material, you might must thicken the puree with a tiny bit extra cornstarch than the recipe requires. 

High with sugar earlier than baking. In Chile, pastel de choclo could be cooked dulce o salado—candy or savory—or any stage in between. This relies totally on the sweetness of the corn, but additionally on the prepare dinner’s tastes. I favor the puree barely candy to steadiness the savory beef pino and rooster. Beginning with candy corn helps obtain this, however I end the casserole with a sprinkle of sugar earlier than it goes into the oven to advertise a golden, candy caramelized prime.

Use recent or frozen candy corn. There are apparent execs and cons to utilizing every. As anticipated, the puree made with recent corn has a extra advanced taste (nearer to when made with humero corn), but it surely requires extra work (shucking and reducing 10 ears of corn), and the ultimate taste and thickness of the puree is much less predictable because of corn’s water, sugar, and starch content material, which might differ extra with recent in-season corn. If utilizing frozen corn, the flavour gained’t be as shiny, however much less prep is required, it’s out there year-round, and it is a constant product that produces the identical outcomes each time.

Assembling and Serving

When able to assemble, I like to recommend having the stew and rooster chilly or at the least at room temperature for simpler dealing with, however maintain the corn puree scorching or at the least heat so it spreads readily excessive. You’ll know the casserole is prepared when the saucy beef filling bubbles up across the edges of the pastelera layer and the candy aroma of corn fills the home. It smells precisely like a Chilean celebration on the peak of summer time. Serve it as we Chileans do, with a easy tomato and onion salad and a medium-bodied Chilean purple wine.