Mote con huesillo

This is the drink that we were served for dessert at our Bicentennial Activity in the branch.The expression, “Más chileno que el mote con huesillos,” translated into “More Chilean than a mote con huesillo,” refers to the distinctive nationality of this drink.

Mote con huesillo is a traditional Chilean summer-time drink, known as the “refreshing national drink.” It is a non-alcoholic consisting of a sweet clear nectar like liquid made with dried peaches (huesillo) cooked in sugar and water and then once cooled mixed with fresh cooked husked wheat (mote).^[1] The sweet clear nectar is usually made with sugar, but can also be supplemented or replaced with honey. When the drink is served without the dried peaches, it is called a “descarozados.” On occasion, it may also be served with dried prunes, however this is less common. Another modern option is to use peach preserves in place of the dried peaches. Both the mote and huesillo correspond to Mediterranean climates, like that of central Chile. This drink is very popular during summer months and is sold by street vendors on rolling carts or stands. It is also a very popular homemade recipe, for which the ingredients are readily available in supermarkets, small grocery stores and farmers' markets. Bottled, canned or store packaged versions of mote con huesillo are limited and thus, not common.

The huesillos, or dried peaches, are washed and soaked the night prior to preparation in order to rehydrate them. Once hydrated, they are cooked for thirty minutes or more in a sugar and water mixture, optionally with some natural cinnamon sticks. To give the drink its honey hue, sugar is heated in a sauce pan in order to caramelize it and bring it to a rich orange ruby color, which is added to the syrup mixture.While the huesillos are cooking, the mote, or husked wheat, is cooked in water until tender. Once the mote are cooked, they are drained and added to the sweet huesillos drink, and left to cool. This combination is served chilled, in a tall glass with a tall desert spoon for easy serving.

Chilean Empanadas - Empanadas de Pino

I thought you might like to make some of these so I am including the recipe. Enjoy!

In Chile, the most traditional empanada filling is called "pino". Pino is a seasoned mixture of ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives, and hard boiled eggs. The empananda dough is quick and easy to make, and can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. The pino tastes best if made the day before and allowed to rest overnight before filling the empanandas.

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 65 minutes

Ingredients:

• Empanada dough (see recipe link below)
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped olives
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:

1. Prepare empanada dough and chill.
2. Cook the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil and butter until softened. Add the ground beef, cumin, chile powder, paprika, beef bouillon, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cook the beef, stirring and crumbling the meat, until browned. Add the flour and continue to cook for 5 or 10 minutes more.
4. Remove the meat mixture and let cool. The beef mixture will keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator.
5. Shape the empanadas: Separate the dough into golf ball size pieces, and roll into smooth balls. Let rest for 5 minutes. On a floured surface, roll each ball of dough into a 6 inch diameter circle, about 1/4 inch thick. Add 1 tablespoon of the beef filling, a few raisins and some chopped olives, and a slice of hard boiled egg to the middle of the circle.
6. Brush the edges with water and fold the pastry in half over the filling, to make a semi-circle.
7. Seal the edges by pressing down with your fingers. Brush the sealed edge lightly with water, then turn the edge toward the middle and press with your fingers to seal.
8. Mix the egg yolk with 2 tablespoons milk, and brush the empanadas with the mixture.
9. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

This recipe produces a sweet dough that contrasts perfectly with savory fillings. Empanada dough is less flaky than pie crust (although you can substitute frozen pie crust dough in a pinch) - it has a tender texture that soaks up the filling. This dough can be used for baked or fried empanandas. If you are going to fry the empanadas, omit the egg yolk and roll the dough out slightly thinner (less than 1/4" thickness). Ingredients: 4 cups flour 1-2 teaspoons salt 2-3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons butter, chilled 12 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, chilled 3/4 - 1 cup water 2 egg yolks Preparation: Sift the flour into a bowl. Stir in the salt and the sugar. Blend the butter and shortening (or lard) into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or with two knives, until fairly well blended. Whisk the egg yolks wiht 3/4 cups water. Stir in the 1/2 cup of water/egg mixture, a little at a time until the dough starts to come together smoothly. Keep kneading the dough, adding more water/egg a little bit at a time as necessary (you made need a few tablespoons extra of water), until the dough is smooth. The dough will seem a bit shaggy until it has thoroughly chilled. Cover the dough with saran wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. (Dough can also be kept overnight (or a couple of days) in the refrigerator) Dough should be soft and smooth, and not elastic - if you poke a hole in it with your finger, the indentation should remain. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and roll into desired thickness. Makes enough dough for 10-12 large empanadas.

Chilean Food, Empanadas

Empanadas are another very typical dish, but not one eaten every week like the cazuela or carbonada. Today we were invited to Marioli and Irma’s house for almuerzo of just empanadas. We had fried ones with cheese. We also had baked ones with meat or chicken or shellfish or dessert ones with fruit filling.
On the right are the baked ones. Yum! They are filled with ground beef, onion, one small slice of boiled egg, one olive (with the pit) and maybe a raisin or two. Many times chicken will be substituted for the beef, but they always include the one olive (with the pit). Watch out teeth!
They also make fried ones (at the very top) with the same fillings. The fried ones with cheese were the best! I didn’t like the ones made with shellfish. Yuck! They make several kinds of dessert empanadas also. My favorite is pineapple.
All Chileans love empanadas. What's not to love?

Completos Italiano

Throughout Chile there are many stand-up hot dog stands filled with diners wolfing down very large hot dogs. These hot dogs are called completos or completos italiano.
The completo can have many toppings,but the real authentic one has avocado sauce, diced tomatoes; and chopped pickles, carrots, onions and cabbage. On top of the avacado sauce is a very large squirt of mayonnaise. They even have a hot dog chain (like a McDonalds) called "Doggies". We ate there once for the experience. Dad said if I ate there again it would be by myself. I guess you can tell from that how he liked the food.

Chile’s National Dance: The Cueca

The national dance of Chile is called the Cueca. This dance has rich historical roots in both African and Native American cultures. Even though Chileans have been dancing the Cueca for years, it wasn’t declared the official dance of Chile until September, 1979.
The Cueca is a parody of the courtship of a chicken and rooster. The dancers wave handkerchiefs above their heads during the dance. These handkerchiefs can symbolize the feathers of the bird or the rooster’s comb.







The choreography (movements) of the Cueca consists of circles, moving in semicircles back and forth (known as half moons), and turning towards the partner and then away.
The dance happens in an imaginary circle, with the man in one half, and the woman in the other. It starts with a promenade where the man invites the woman to join him by offering his arm. This is done while instrumental entry music is played. The couples stand facing each other about three meters apart. Before the song begins, the couple claps their hands in rhythm of the music.
The children have been dressing like this all week and will continue until after the 18th of September. I think they look really cute!

Chilean Food, Carbonada

This, to me, is the boring part of Chilean food. Here, you see carbonada. Does is look familiar? It should. It is basically the same as cazuela, just all chopped up.
This is a tasty vegetable beef soup.

Chilean Food, Cazuela de Vacuno

This is, by far, the most typical Chilean dish. Cazuela de Vacuno. Basically its beef and vegetable soup. But, as you can see, all the veggies are in big pieces rather than all chopped up. It has beef, potato, squash, corn, green beans and rice. Often it is garnished with fresh, chopped cilantro.

The interesting thing about this soup is how it is eaten. Americans want to eat a little bit of everything. This is not possible with cazuela. You must, must, must eat the broth first. If you don't, you will splash broth all over everything if you try to eat potato or meat first. Please don't ask me how I figured this out!

Chilean families will eat this at least once a week. It can be eaten as an appetizer or a main course, depending on how much meat you have to put in it. You can also make it with chicken.

It is very tasty and healthy.