This Pastel de Choclo is made with all of the fantastic flavors of this traditional casserole dish from Chile! Creamy corn pudding sandwiches layers of seasoned ground beef, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, olives, and raisins and is then baked to caramelized corn perfection! It's sure to become a family-favorite recipe in your house!
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Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly coat your baking dish with oil or non-stick cooking spray. I am using a 2.5-quart casserole dish, but a 9 x 13 baking pan works too.
While your onions are cooking, soak the raisins. Place them into a small bowl and cover with warm water. Allow the raisins to soak while you prepare the meat filling and sweet corn layers.
Minced Meat Filling
In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat the olive oil to medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, saute for 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant. *You can cook until the onion reaches your desired level of tenderness as well.
Add the ground beef to the sauteed onions and garlic. Move the onion and garlic to the sides and add the ground beef. Brown the ground beef for 5 minutes without breaking it apart, then break up the meat and continue to cook until browned. Drain off the grease.
Add the seasoning (paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper), Stir to combine and set aside.
Sweet Corn Crust Layers
In the bowl of your food processor, add the drained sweet corn, heavy cream, butter, cornmeal, and salt.
Pulse your food processor until the corn mixture reaches a coarse pureed appearance, but is not smooth.
Transfer the pureed creamed corn to a large skillet or frying pan and cook over medium-high heat until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and cook at a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Assemble the Pastel de Choclo
Grease the bottom of the baking dish with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray or olive oil. *I use the grease from my cooked meat.
Place the first ⅓ portion of your corn mixture into the bottom of your greased baking dish.
Layer the seasoned beef over the bottom layer of corn. Top with halved or chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Add the cooked chicken breast meat, soaked raisins, and olives.
Add the remaining ⅔ of the sweet corn mixture. Top with chopped basil and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes or until lightly golden on the top and bubbling around the edges. Finish browning the top corn layer by turning your oven to broil. Remove from the oven when golden brown and allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
For a truly authentic flavor, you can buy merkén (also found as merquén or Mapuche-style seasoning). Merkén is a smoked chili pepper seasoning available as a ground spice. This is a traditional spice that is used in Chile's Mapuche cuisine that can be combined with your minced beef filling, the sweet corn pudding, or both!
The Andean choclo used in Chile is a large form of corn, similar to hominy, that is not quite as sweet as our sweet corn here in the States. The choclo has a great starchy texture that caramelizes into an amazing top and bottom crust! If you want to use authentic choclo in the recipe, look for it in a Latin market.
Your pastel de choclo can be baked in a casserole dish, a 9x13 baking pan, or individual ramekins. The ramekins are a super way to serve this beefy dish, as everyone can get an equal portion of the crisped sweet corn pudding!