National Dish Chile: Pastel de Choclo (Recipe)
In this article
Pastel de Choclo is a meat pie with a lid made of blended sweetcorn instead of pastry. Sugar is scattered over the top before baking, so the crust caramelises. Sweet corn over savoury beef sounds wrong and is not.
About Pastel de Choclo
Pastel de choclo is Chile’s summer dish, made when the corn is in. Underneath sits pino, the same beef, onion, olive and hard-boiled egg filling that goes into Chilean empanadas. Over it goes a purée of fresh corn kernels blended with milk and basil, and the whole thing bakes in an earthenware dish called a paila.
The olive is always whole and always has its stone. Chileans regard removing it as a mistake.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 2 large corn cobs (or about 2 cups sweetcorn kernels)
- 300g minced beef
- 1 medium onion
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 chicken breast
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 10 black olives
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Paprika and cumin, to taste
- Oil, for frying
Shopping for the ingredients
Fresh corn on the cob gives a far better result than frozen or tinned, because the starch in fresh kernels is what thickens the topping. Chilean choclo has large starchy kernels; ordinary sweetcorn is sweeter and softer, so expect a looser topping. Fresh basil, not dried, goes into the purée.
Preparing the dish
Make the pino first and let it cool. Blend the corn with the milk to a coarse purée, not a smooth one, then cook it in a pan for five minutes until it thickens noticeably. Skipping that step gives a topping that stays wet in the oven.
Step-by-step instructions
- Scrape the corn kernels from the cobs and blend them with the milk, salt and sugar until you have a smooth paste.
- Finely chop the onion and sweat it in a pan with a little oil until translucent. Add the minced beef and brown it, seasoning with salt, pepper, paprika and cumin.
- Grease an ovenproof dish and add alternating layers of the meat, chicken pieces, egg and olives.
- Pour the corn paste over the filling and spread it evenly across the top.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 30 minutes, until the surface is golden brown.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The dish is naturally gluten-free, since corn replaces pastry entirely. For lactose-free, blend the corn with a plant milk; oat milk works best because its own starch helps the topping set.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Lentils or mushrooms in place of the beef work well with the same cumin and paprika seasoning, and porotos granados, the bean and corn stew, is the established Chilean vegetarian dish. Use plant milk and leave out the egg for a vegan version.
More tips and tricks
Cook the corn purée in a pan before it goes on the pie. That single step is the difference between a set topping and a soupy one. Scatter the sugar over the surface in the last ten minutes and finish under a hot grill for the caramelised crust. And let it stand five minutes before serving, since it comes out of the oven at a temperature that will burn your mouth.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Raisins are common in the pino and divide opinion sharply. Chicken alone, or beef alone, are both normal. Individual portions in small clay dishes bake faster and look better.
Ingredient substitutions
Frozen corn works with an extra spoonful of cornflour to help it set. Turkey replaces chicken. Green olives can stand in, though black is standard.
Drink pairing ideas
A Chilean Carménère handles the sweet-savoury combination. Pisco sour comes before the meal. Chilled mote con huesillo is the summer soft drink.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in the dish it baked in, with the caramelised top intact, and an ensalada chilena of tomato and onion alongside. It is a summer lunch and it is heavy, so the salad is not optional.
A bit of history
Corn is indigenous to the Americas and pastel de choclo is a genuinely Mapuche-influenced dish, adapted with Spanish meat and olives after conquest. It belongs to Chilean cuisine alongside cazuela and charquicán, and it appears on tables from December to March and rarely outside that window.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Pastel de Choclo
Pastel de choclo is a beef and olive filling under a lid of blended sweetcorn, sugared and baked until the top caramelises. Cook the corn purée before it goes on, and use fresh cobs.
