Pastel de choclo (Chilean beef and corn pie)
A cumin-spiced beef filling with raisins and olives baked under a sweet, creamy blended corn topping that turns golden and caramelized.
- 80 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.21 a serving
- 370 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 2 yellow onions, diced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- 4 cups frozen corn, thawed
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup fresh basil
- 2 tbsp butter
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1¾ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp sugar
Each serving has about 370 calories, 19 g protein, 35 g carbs and 19 g fat, and costs about $2.21 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Heat the oil in a large over medium and cook the onions 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 8 min
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the beef, and cook 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the cumin, paprika, oregano, 1¼ teaspoons salt and the pepper for 1 minute, then the raisins and olives. Spread it in a 9x9-inch baking dish.
Medium heat
Blend the corn, milk, basil and remaining ½ teaspoon salt until mostly smooth, with a little texture left.
Dolly’s tip: Thaw the corn under cold running water in a strainer. It blends more easily.the butter in a over medium, pour in the corn mixture, and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick like porridge.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep stirring along the bottom. Corn scorches quickly once it thickens.Spread the corn evenly over the beef and sprinkle the sugar over the top.
Dolly’s tip: The sugar caramelizes into a crackly golden top.30 to 35 minutes, until and bubbling at the edges. Let it 10 minutes before serving.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 32 min 30 sec
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
