More Good Eats (Mote con Huesillos, Humitas, Cazuela etc.)

Time for another food update!

Humitas

Humitas are basically the vegetarian version of Pastel de Choclo (see previous entry). Individually wrapped in corn leaves (hojas de maíz), humitas look like tamales but have quite a distinct flavor. Like the topping for pastel de choclo, these steamed corn-meal treats are denser and on the sweeter side.

Most street cafés sell humitas, although I've only tried them twice so far. This first time they were hand-made and I was at my host family's neighbor's apartment. Then, I ordered them again for lunch this week. Remember Chileans tend towards simplicity with their food, because of this, the first time I just had them with fresh diced tomatoes, and the second time with pebre, a traditional Chilean salsa.

Pebre

In the U.S., "pebre" would be the salsa Mexican restaurants typically serve with chips, but in Chile the word "salsa" is generally used for sauces, such as those put on pasta and meat dishes.

Here's an authentic-looking recipe for humitas I found online (although so far the ones I've tried haven't had cheese):

http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/09/05/humitas/

Mote con Huesillos

It's hard to walk through Santiago without passing by a "Mote con Huesillos" puesto (stand) like the one pictured above. About $500 Chilean Pesos or $1 USD a pop, this peach-tea drink is quite popular with Chileans. In addition to fruit juice, it contains durazno seco (dried peach) and trigo cocido (literally translates to "cooked wheat" but I've been told it's actually cooked barley...still don't know quite for sure).

Either way, I'm a big fan of trigo cocido- it has a somewhat chewy texture and exotic flavor since it's cooked with juice. I've never liked sweet juices much, so I don't enjoy the actual juice and dried peach of Mote con Huesillos as much, but I'd definitely recommend trying it.

Cazuela

My host mom prepares this delicious, traditional Chilean stew for dinner weekly. It contains beef or chicken, corn on the cob, potato, squash, rice, peas, red bell pepper, carrots, and cilantro in a flavorful stock-based broth.

Bravissimo

Bravissimo is one of the more popular ice-cream chains in Santiago with a wide selection of flavors. My host family treated me there after dinner the other night. I found it a bit sweeter and lighter in texture than the ice-cream characteristic of the U.S. Also note that when you order a cone in Chile, it's usually stuck on top of your ice-cream in a cup.

Salmón con Arroz

Okay, so maybe Salmon and rice isn't so unique to Chile, but I couldn't help but include this picture- my host Mom seasons it particularly well. (I'm pretty sure the rice is loaded with margarine...)