Corn And Beef Chilean Pastel De Choclo Food

PASTEL DE CHOCLO (BEEF CASSEROLE WITH CORN BATTER TOPPING)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Stir in the garlic and saute for another 1-2 minutes. Add the ground beef, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and saute, breaking up the meat, until the beef is just cooked through, 6-8 minutes.
• Pour in the water or stock and bring to a simmer. Sprinkle flour over all and stir in well. Simmer for another 5-8 minutes until lightly thickened. Adjust seasoning, remove from heat and set aside. This meat mixture is called pino.
• Place the corn, cornmeal, cornstarch and sugar in a food processor and process until well pureed. With the blade running, add the milk a little at a time until the corn forms a thick batter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Melt the butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Add the corn puree and cook, stirring constantly, until well thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Set aside.
• Spread the beef mixture in a greased casserole dish. Top with the cooked corn puree and spread out evenly over the dish. Sprinkle the sugar over the corn topping.
• Set the dish in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown on top.
• VARIATIONS:.
• After placing the beef mixture in the casserole dish, top with two poached chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces, and 2-3 sliced hard-boiled eggs. Then top with the corn puree.
• Add 1/4 cup raisins and 1/4 cup chopped black olives to the simmering beef mixture.
• Stir 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil into the corn puree topping.
• Some Chileans add 1/4 cup or more sugar to the corn topping to make it quite sweet.
• Set the finished casserole under a hot broiler for 1 or 2 minutes to brown it well if you like.

PASTEL DE CHOCLO: CHILEAN BEEF AND CORN CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Sauté the onions in the vegetable oil until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground beef, cumin, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the beef is crumbled and browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Place the corn kernels in a food processor or blender with 1/4 cup of the milk. Process for 1 to 2 minutes, until the corn is blended and appears creamy.
• Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a large saucepan. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, sugar, and the blended corn mixture.
• Add the remaining 3/4 cup milk and simmer, constantly stirring, until the mixture thickens-about 5 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the chopped fresh basil. Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Drain the liquid from the browned beef mixture.
• Place the ground beef mixture in the bottom of a 3- to 4-quart casserole dish.
• Sprinkle the raisins, olives, and hard-boiled eggs over the beef, then layer the chicken on top.
• Spread the corn mixture over the top of the casserole so that it covers the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle some sugar on top.
• Bake the casserole in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling hot and the corn mixture is golden brown.
• Serve warm.

CHILEAN PASTEL DE CHOCLO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Combine milk and corn in a large saucepan, bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, let stand, covered 5 minutes. Place the corn mixture in a food processor, process it until smooth. Stir in the basil, 1 tsp of the sugar, and 1/2 teaspoons salt.
• Combine broth, onion, bell pepper, carrot, black pepper, garlic and bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 teaspoons salt, chicken, and parsley. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Drain, discard bay leaves.
• Place chicken mixture in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with the corn mixture, sprinkle evenly with remaining 1 tbsp sugar. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes.
• Preheat broiler. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!
• Yield: 4 servings.