Porotos con Riendas

Here is a typical dish, eaten at least once a week. Porotos con Riendas, which translates to Beans with Reins. It’s beans, with pumpkin-like squash, a sausage-onion-bell pepper sauted, and spaghetti, thus the "reins". I thought maybe Nelson Leland would love these beans! Also, you can add a bit of tomato sauce.
Sometimes these are made with no meat at all, and they are still good! You can make it with ground beef instead of sausage for a change.

Chilean Beef and Corn Casserole - Pastel de Choclo

This beef and corn casserole is very popular dish in Chile, where it's known as pastel de choclo. Lots of different flavors - beef and onions, raisins, olives, roasted chicken - go into the body of the casserole, and the whole thing is topped off with a thick layer of creamed corn. The creamed corn caramelizes in the oven, and the result is a delicious salty/sweet combination that's reminiscent of shepherd's pie. The following recipe has been "Americanized" in that the olives are chopped and not just inserted pit and all. The corn that we have in the United States is more tender and sweeter than what they have here. I have tried this with some frozen corn that I found here, but I don't like it with the fresh corn which is more like field corn that we fed the cows. How do you like the combination of olives, boiled eggs, and raisins again? It's not just in the empanadas. Hope you enjoy another taste of Chile.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3-4 medium onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1.5 pounds of ground beef
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 3 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped black olives
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1 cup shredded roasted chicken
• 2-3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Sauté the onions in the vegetable oil until soft and translucent, 5 minutes.
2. Add the ground beef, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the beef is crumbled and browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Place the corn kernels in a food processor or blender with 1/4 cup milk. Process for 1 to 2 minutes, until corn is blended and appears creamy.
4. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a pan, and add 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, and the corn mixture. Add the remaining 3/4 cup milk and simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped basil and remove from heat.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
6. Drain the liquid from the browned beef mixture. Place the ground beef mixture in the bottom of a 3-4 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle raisins, olives, and hardboiled eggs over the beef, then layer the chicken on top.
7. Spread the corn mixture over the top of the casserole so that it covers the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top.
8. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, until the corn mixture is golden brown.
9. Serve warm.

Rayuela – a Traditional Chilean Game

We went out to the “campo” or out in the country on Monday, the last day of the 4 day holiday for the Bicentennial. We had fun hiking and flying kites and eating. This is another things we did while we were there. We played the game called Rayuela. Rayuela or tejo is a typical traditional game of rural Chile that has been played since colonial times. The game of Rayuela most resembles the game of horse shoes. There is another game called rayuela played by Chilean children which is really just hopscotch. However, the traditional Chilean rayuela is very different from this childhood version.The objective is to throw your tejo, a disk or marker like a rock or a coin, so that it lands on the target.

The target is a wooden box less than a square meter in size and about a board’s width high. This box is filled with mud and a taut, white string is stretched across the surface in the middle. A player will stand a designated distance from the box and throw the tejo trying to get it to land on the string. The most points are awarded to the player who lands closest to the string or on top of it.

Dad was really good at this game. Must have been all that practice with horseshoes!

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.