Pastel de Choclo

Pilar Hernandez’s pastel de choclo layers a ground-beef and onion filling beneath a corn topping. Her selected frozen-corn adaptation uses cornmeal to thicken the topping and finishes its surface with granulated sugar.

Vegetable oil heats before ground beef is sautéed until lightly browned. Sweet paprika, salt, pepper and ground cumin are added, followed by the selected water; the meat simmers before diced onions cook in it until tender. Flour is stirred in after the heat is turned off.

Butter melts in a heavy-bottomed pot before frozen corn is added. Whole milk, sweet basil, salt, pepper and paprika follow, then the corn is blended while leaving some pieces intact and cornmeal is stirred in to make a firm topping.

The beef filling goes into a baking dish, with optional cooked chicken, hard-boiled egg quarters, olives and raisins over it. The corn mixture covers the filling and granulated sugar is sprinkled on its surface.

The casserole bakes until bubbling and golden and stands briefly before serving hot. Hernandez suggests pebre, salsa verde or ensalada chilena as separate accompaniments.