TASTE
Pastel de choclo (maize pie)
This mestizo dish, adapting the Spanish beef-filled empanada pasty by replacing wheat pastry with a creamy sweetcorn topping, is Chile’s favourite homemade meal and a historic example of fusion cuisine. Its origins may lie in the kitchens of Spanish colonial settlers in Chile, with native Mapuche cooks blending the two culinary traditions. Others point to 16th-century accounts from Conquistador-era Peru. Either way, it’s a hearty dish that’s hugely popular across the region, with many variant recipes and methods.
