Welcome to Chile! We did take a detour on our way to Guinea-Bissau, but we are back in South America, where we love the food! Chile's highest mountain is over 22,000 feet tall, and is only the second-tallest mountain in South America! It is the southern-most country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica (bucket list!). It also has the highest volcano on earth. Chile sounds like it's got a bit of everything, and a place to go visit! According to Google, the population of Chile is 19.66 million people and the capital is Santiago. Their national dish is...
Cazuela!
It is a stew with a little bit of everything. Another source said that Curanto was the national dish. Curanto is almost like a Spanish paella without the rice. What do you do when you find two recipes to make? Make them both! So that's what we did. It was great to share this meal with the whole family - there were lots of folks to help eat it all! Here's what I did:
2 tbsp oil
1 onion, cut into quarters
1 bell pepper, cut into quarters
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
One celery stalk, chopped
2 ears of corn, cut into thirds
6 small red potatoes, peeled
4 handfuls of rice
1 butternut squash, chunked
5-6 cups boiling water
- Fry meat in the oil, brown all sides.
- Add the onion, oregano, and cumin, and fry until brown.
- Add all other ingredients, except for squash, and cover them with water.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring to a boil then simmer for at least 1 hour, up to 2 hours.
- Add the squash about 30 minutes before serving.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 lb gold potatoes, quartered
1 red pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 jalapeño, thickly sliced
1 tbsp garlic chopped
1 large Savoy cabbage leaves, torn off
2 chorizo sausages, cut in thirds
1 lb pork chops, chops cut in half
2 lbs clams
1 lb mussels
1 C white wine
- Heat oil in a large pot over high heat.
- Add chicken and cook until lightly brown.
- Add potatoes, red peppers, onions, jalapeño pepper and half of garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes or until softened.
- Cover tightly with cabbage leaves.
- Add sausage and pork chops, and cover with more cabbage leaves.
- Add clams, mussels and remaining garlic, pour wine over top and cover with a final layer of cabbage leaves.
- Cover pot tightly with a lid.
- Cook for about 40 minutes on medium heat, or until everything is cooked and steaming hot.
- Remove pot from heat and put all the ingredients clams, mussels, sausage, chicken and pork on a platter.
- Serve cabbage as well.
- Enjoy!
