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246 recipes

Merkén

Merkén comes from the Mapuche kitchens of Araucanía: cacho de cabra chillies are dried, smoked over a wood fire, then ground with toasted coriander seed and salt into a brick-red powder that is smoky, warm and lightly hot. In Temuco and across the south it is shaken over potatoes, eggs, sopaipillas, grilled fish and soups. Outside Chile, use dried smoked red chillies, or plain dried red chillies plus smoked paprika. The mistake to avoid is scorching the chillies in the pan: if they blacken, the whole jar is bitter. Chef's tip: grind it a little coarse, as it is sold in Temuco's market, so the coriander seeds stay noticeable.

23 minChileanBasicsVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cola de mono

In Santiago, December means cola de mono: bottles of cold, coffee-coloured spiced milk that families make days ahead and open on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, poured beside slices of pan de pascua, the dense Chilean fruit cake. The traditional version is for adults only, spiked with grape aguardiente; pour small glasses and drink responsibly. It tastes like a sweet, cold café con leche with cinnamon, clove and orange, the aguardiente adding a warm finish, and the texture is smooth and light, never thick. Each glass has about as much caffeine as a small, weak coffee, so use decaf for anyone sensitive. The classic mistake is adding the aguardiente while the milk is still hot: much of the alcohol steams away and the milk can catch and curdle. Let the spiced milk cool completely first. It is ready when the colour is an even tan, the spices smell strong but the milk tastes clean, and it is fridge-cold. It keeps 3–4 days in the fridge in clean bottles; shake before pouring and throw it out if it smells sour. Chef's tip: make it two days ahead; the spices keep blooming and it tastes noticeably rounder.

30 minChileanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huevos a la copa

In Chilean homes, huevos a la copa are a weekday breakfast and a sick-day comfort: eggs boiled until the whites are just set and the yolks still runny, then scooped out of their shells into a small glass (the copa), broken up with a spoon, salted and eaten with warm marraqueta for dipping. The common mistake is timing from cold water, which makes the result unpredictable; lower the eggs into water that is already boiling. Runny yolks are not suitable for pregnant people, young children, older or vulnerable people; for them, boil the eggs for 9–10 minutes until fully set. If you need it gluten free, serve with gluten-free bread. Chef's tip: a tiny knob of butter stirred into the hot egg in the glass makes it silky.

8 minChileanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ave palta

In Santiago's fuentes de soda and school kiosks, the ave palta is the lunch everyone orders: a soft hallulla or crusty marraqueta roll filled with shredded chicken in mayonnaise (ave mayo) and a thick layer of mashed avocado, palta. Chileans pack it for the office and for long bus journeys. The common mistake is mixing warm chicken with mayonnaise, which turns oily and is a food-safety risk; cool the chicken first. Pack it with an ice pack. Chef's tip: mash the avocado with lemon and salt just before assembling, so it stays green until lunch.

25 minChileanChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan con palta

Chileans eat more avocado than almost anyone, and in Santiago homes the breakfast table (and the evening once) almost always has warm marraqueta or round hallulla bread spread with palta: ripe avocado simply mashed with salt. It is less a recipe than a ritual, but getting it right matters. The common mistake is using hard avocados or mashing them into a smooth purée with lime and onion like guacamole; Chileans want ripe Hass avocado, only lightly mashed, and salt, nothing more. Chef's tip: warm the bread first and mash the avocado right on it with a fork, so it sinks into the crumb.

8 minChileanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Leche con plátano

Ask anyone who grew up in Chile, from Arica to Punta Arenas, what they drank after school and many will say leche con plátano. It is made in a blender in two minutes, usually at onces, the late-afternoon tea, alongside marraqueta rolls with butter or avocado, and it is the first thing many children learn to make by themselves. It is pale, foamy and thick enough to leave a moustache, tasting simply of sweet ripe banana and cold milk, sometimes with a pinch of cinnamon. The common mistake is making it ahead: within half an hour the banana turns the milk greyish-beige and the foam collapses, so blend it just before drinking. It is ready when it is completely smooth, light and frothy, with no banana lumps at the bottom of the jug. Use bananas with a few brown freckles: they are sweet enough that you may need little or no sugar. Chef's tip: slice and freeze overripe bananas, then blend them straight from the freezer; the drink comes out icy and extra thick without any ice.

5 minChileanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sándwich de bondiola

Along the Costanera Sur riverside in Buenos Aires, beside the Reserva Ecológica, the carritos have grilled for cyclists, walkers and taxi drivers for generations, and the bondiola sandwich is their pride: a thick pork shoulder steak, marbled and juicy, grilled until charred and laid in a crusty roll with chimichurri and salsa criolla. Weekend afternoons are the busiest. Chef's tip: leave the fat on the steak and turn it only once; the fat bastes the meat and the crust is the best part.

40 minArgentinianMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Saffron rijstpap

Flemish rijstpap, rice slowly cooked in milk until thick and creamy, is a breakfast, a pudding and a childhood memory, and in East and West Flanders it is coloured golden with saffron and eaten with a spoonful of brown sugar. Old Flemish sayings even promise that in heaven you eat rijstpap with golden spoons. The mistake is cooking it too fast: the milk catches on the bottom and the rice stays chalky, so keep it at the barest simmer and stir often. Chef's tip: use round pudding rice, not long-grain, because its starch is what makes the porridge thick and silky without any cream.

60 minBelgianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Brazo de reina

The 'queen's arm' sits in the glass cabinet of every Chilean bakery: a light sponge rolled around a thick layer of manjar (Chilean dulce de leche) and dusted with icing sugar. At home it is the cake for a birthday tea or an unexpected visitor, because it bakes in 10 minutes. The common mistake is overbaking: a dry sponge cracks as you roll it. Take it out the moment it springs back. Chef's tip: roll the sponge up in a sugared tea towel while it is still hot and let it cool that way; it remembers the shape and won't crack when you fill it.

35 minChileanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cuchuflí

Cuchuflí are the thin, crisp wafer tubes filled with manjar that vendors sell from baskets on Chilean beaches and outside football stadiums, and that children beg for at the Fiestas Patrias fondas. At home you can bake the wafers yourself and roll them round a wooden spoon handle. The usual mistake is waiting too long to roll them: the wafers set within seconds and crack. Bake only three at a time. Chef's tip: fill them with a piping bag just before serving, or the manjar softens the wafer; dip the ends in melted chocolate if you like.

30 minChileanDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Valdiviano

Valdiviano is one of Chile's oldest soups, said to date from the colonial days of Pedro de Valdivia, when soldiers carried charqui (sun-dried beef) on long marches. It is still a winter dish in the south, around Temuco and Valdivia, and a classic hangover cure in Santiago: a pot of slowly softened onions, potatoes and shredded dried beef in broth, scented with cumin and oregano, finished with a poached egg in each bowl. The usual mistake is skipping the soak: charqui must soak for at least 2 hours, or it stays leathery and over-salty. If you can't find charqui, use 300 g shredded cooked beef. A runny yolk is traditional; for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system, cook the egg until the yolk is firm. Chef's tip: cook the onions slowly until they almost melt, as they are what turn a humble broth into valdiviano.

65 minChileanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pollo arvejado

Pollo arvejado is a Chilean home-cooking classic, the kind of quick, homely braise that mothers in Santiago make on a weekday and that appears on set lunch (colación) menus all over the country. Chicken pieces simmer with onion, garlic, carrot and plenty of green peas (arvejas) in a light, golden sauce flavoured with cumin, oregano and a little paprika. It is a good balance of protein and vegetables and suitable as part of a balanced diet; serve with salad or a small portion of brown rice instead of the usual white rice or mashed potato. About 400 kcal and 17 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is adding the peas at the start, which turns them grey; add frozen peas only for the last 8 minutes. Chef's tip: take the skin off the chicken after browning, so you keep the colour but lose most of the fat.

55 minChileanChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Café de higo

In the farmhouses of central Chile, in the Maule and O'Higgins valleys, people have long drunk café de higo: a dark, caffeine-free "coffee" made from dried figs roasted with grains such as barley and wheat, then ground. It's mellow, fruity and slightly caramel-like, and many Chileans still prefer it with milk at breakfast. The fig granules are sold in Chilean and Latin grocers. The common mistake is brewing it like instant coffee, with a quick stir; it's a ground blend, so simmer it briefly and strain. It contains grains, so it is not gluten free. Chef's tip: a strip of orange peel in the pan brings out the fig flavour.

10 minChileanDrinksVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dobladitas

In the south of Chile, from Concepción down through Temuco and Chiloé, dobladitas are baked for breakfast and the evening once: rounds of a lard-enriched dough brushed with more melted pork lard, folded in half and in half again, and baked until the layers puff and flake apart. Eat them warm, pulled into their layers, with tea and butter (or margarine to keep them dairy free), jam or avocado. The lard is pork fat. The common mistake is using cold, hard lard for brushing; it must be melted and warm, so it soaks between the layers and makes them separate. Chef's tip: roll the folded pieces only lightly, just to seal the layers; pressing hard squeezes the lard out and they bake up tough.

45 minChileanBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Guiso de fideos

Guiso de fideos is the winter weeknight stew of Argentina, cooked in Buenos Aires flats and on estancias alike, and as loved by children as by grandparents. Beef, potatoes and vegetables simmer in a light tomato and sweet-paprika broth, then short pasta cooks straight in the pot and thickens it into something between a soup and a stew. Serve it in deep plates with crusty bread and grated cheese for those who want it. The usual mistake is adding the pasta too early, so it swells and turns mushy; it goes in only for the last 10–12 minutes. Chef's tip: cut the beef into small cubes, about 2 cm, so it is tender in under an hour.

75 minArgentinianMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Morcipán (blood sausage roll)

At any Buenos Aires asado, and at the street grills outside football grounds like La Bombonera in La Boca, the choripán has a twin: the morcipán, a soft, rich morcilla split and laid in crusty bread. Argentine morcilla is a pork blood sausage with pork fat, onion and spices, sometimes with nuts or raisins, and it grills to a crisp skin around a soft, spoonable centre that tastes deep and slightly sweet. A sharp chimichurri cuts through it. Chef's tip: grill it over a gentle heat and turn it carefully with tongs; on a fierce grill the casing splits and the filling runs out.

25 minArgentinianFast Food
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Sándwich de vacío

Vacío, the flank cut with its layer of fat and membrane, is grilled slowly for a long time at Buenos Aires parrillas, and at the street grills near football grounds and the weekend fairs of Mataderos it ends up sliced into crusty bread for a hearty midday sandwich. Cooked gently, it turns tender and very juicy, with a crisp, salty layer of fat. Chef's tip: grill it membrane side down first for most of the time and do not trim that membrane off; it protects the meat and turns crisp.

120 minArgentinianMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicons braisés

Belgian endive, called chicon in Wallonia and witloof in Flanders, is grown in the dark around Brussels and eaten all winter, from November to March. Braised slowly in butter with a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon, the pale heads turn golden, soft and gently caramelised, with only a whisper of their raw bitterness left. Serve them beside mashed potatoes and a fried egg, or as a side for a Sunday roast. The usual mistake is crowding the pan and boiling them in their own water, which leaves them grey and bitter. Chef's tip: lay the heads in a single layer and press a round of baking paper on top, so they steam gently and then brown in the butter once the juices cook off.

45 minBelgianSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pistolets

In Brussels and all over Belgium, someone in the family goes to the bakery early on Sunday morning to bring home a paper bag of warm pistolets, the small round rolls with a split down the middle. They are eaten at a long breakfast with butter, jam, chocolate spread, cheese and boiled eggs. The crust shatters and the crumb is light and open. The common mistake is baking in a dry oven, which gives a dull, thick crust; a pan of boiling water in the oven makes the thin, crackly bakery crust. Chef's tip: press the split with a floured wooden spoon handle right after shaping, not just before baking, and it opens cleanly in the oven.

50 minBelgianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ulpo

Ask any Chilean about ulpo and they'll remember being a child at the kitchen table in winter: harina tostada, wheat that has been toasted and ground into a nutty brown flour, stirred into warm milk and sugar until it thickens into a soft, comforting drink-cum-porridge. Harina tostada is sold in Latin grocers, but plain flour toasted in a dry pan gives a similar flavour. The common mistake is tipping the flour in all at once, which forms dry lumps; sprinkle it in while stirring. Chef's tip: let it stand for 2 minutes after stirring; the flour swells and it goes from thin to spoonably thick.

10 minChileanBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarta de zapallitos

In Buenos Aires every rotisería sells tartas by the slice, and at home a tarta de zapallitos is baked on Sunday evening so that a wedge can go into the vianda (packed lunch) for school and work all week. Zapallitos are round green courgettes; ordinary courgettes work just as well. The common mistake is adding the courgette raw, which floods the pastry; sauté it until the liquid has cooked away. Argentine queso rallado and many hard cheeses are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese. Chef's tip: bake the tart on a preheated baking tray so the base crisps before the filling soaks in.

70 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Escabeche de pollo

Pollo en escabeche is a home classic in Córdoba and Buenos Aires, a legacy of Spanish preserving that Argentines make on a Saturday to eat cold all week. It comes out of the fridge for a picada before the asado, as a summer lunch with a green salad and crusty bread, or packed for a day in the sierras. Chicken is browned, then gently cooked in oil and vinegar with carrot, onion, red pepper, garlic, bay and black peppercorns, and left to rest at least a day. The meat turns tender and lightly tangy, the carrots keep a little crunch, and the oil carries the flavour of bay and pepper. Because garlic sits in oil, safety matters: the liquid is half strong vinegar (at least 5% acidity, never diluted beyond what the recipe says), and the jar always lives in the fridge, never on the shelf. Eat it within 5 days. The common mistake is letting it boil hard, which makes the chicken dry and stringy; it should barely tremble. It is ready the next day, when the chicken tastes seasoned right through and the oil has turned golden. Chef's tip: take it out 20 minutes before serving so the oil melts back to liquid.

65 minArgentinianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Calzones rotos

Few sweets have a funnier name: calzones rotos, 'torn knickers', are strips of soft dough with a slit in the middle, one end pulled through to make a twist, then fried and buried in icing sugar. Chilean families fry a big plateful on rainy winter afternoons, and they are sold in paper bags at fairs from Valparaíso to Concepción. The usual mistake is oil that is too hot: they brown in seconds but stay raw and doughy inside. Keep it at 175 °C. Chef's tip: dust them with icing sugar only when they have cooled a little, so the sugar stays white instead of melting.

45 minChileanDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chirimoya alegre

Chileans call it 'happy cherimoya': ripe custard-apple pulp dropped into fresh orange juice and served ice-cold. It turns up as the summer dessert after a big lunch in the Central Valley and in the Aconcagua valley, where much of Chile's cherimoya grows. The fruit should be soft like a ripe avocado; a hard one tastes starchy. The most common mistake is preparing the fruit ahead without juice, so it turns brown and loses its perfume: drop each piece straight into the orange juice. Remove every black seed, as the seeds must not be eaten or crushed. Chef's tip: squeeze the oranges yourself and taste before you sweeten; good juice often needs no sugar at all.

15 minChileanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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