Food 139like corn grown and eaten in the
United States. Another typical
Chilean main dish is porotos
granados, a healthy combination
of beans, squash and corn.
Beans are called porotos, not
frijoles, in Chile.
Pastel de choclo is another dish
using corn. Pieces of chicken
are covered with a seasoned ground beef mixture to which
raisins, black olives and hardboiled eggs are added. This
concoction is then topped with a ground corn paste and
baked in the oven. Most Chileans then sprinkle it with sugar
before eating. Many hearty stews are served as main courses.
Cazuela has just about everything in it—meat, chicken and/or
seafood served in large chunks with a variety of vegetables
and rice. Chileans will transfer the ear of corn, meat and
potatoes to a plate to eat with a knife and fork, and then eat
the broth separately. Curanto is another stew typical from the
island of Chiloé. It can be made with almost anything—fish,
shellfish, meat and/or vegetables. Traditionally the curanto is
cooked underground in a pit, although today it can sometimes
be cooked in pots on a stove.
Empanadas
There are literally hundreds of types of empanadas in South
America. As the name implies, empanadas can be anything
covered with a bread-like outer shell. Basically there are two
categories of empanadas—baked and fried. What is inside is
a regional speciality. A typical Chilean empanada is filled with
a mixture of chopped beef, onion, black olives (sometimes
with the pit still inside!), raisins and hardboiled eggs and
is called empanada de pino. The pequén empanada is filled
with onions and was originally only eaten by the poor, who
could not afford meat. Today it is eaten solely for its flavour.
You should also try seafood empanadas. Cheese empanadas
are fried and have a flaky texture. Despite their large size,
empanadas are usually eaten as an appetiser.
There is a common mispercep-
tion that Chileans eat spicy food.
Do not confuse the dishes of the
Southern Cone with Mexican or
Tex-Mex food. In general, the
majority of Chilean meals are
either hearty meat dishes or
rich seafood dishes. Ají, a spicy
condiment, is sometimes added,
but mouth-burning meals are not
the norm.