Pack your taste buds, we're going to Chile, are you ready?

I totally missed Tasty Travel Tuesday last week. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, this week I am back in taste bud travel mode, how about you?

For those of you who have followed my blog, you may have heard me say multiple times that the food of Chile is very bland. I am still trying to figure out why, but one of the many reasons is that the culture here are not risk takers. They do not like change. They do not like to experiment with food.

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D5300 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. Most every time, I cross post on my personal blog which you can find in my INTRO POST.

This dish is very traditional Chileno. It comes mainly from the indigenous people known as Mapuche, but does have some German influence. A large number of Germans began settling here back in the 1840's

I tried to make this dish as authentic as possible. If I were to prepare for my family's liking, I would definitely have changed some things.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Filling:
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, sedded and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon merken (or paprika)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups cooked chicken breast
4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped (optional)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Corn Topping:
4 1/2 cups sweet whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
powdered sugar for topping (optional)

Instructions

Grease a 13x9 inch glass pan or 6 to 8 ramekins with oil and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and add carrots, bell peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes until carrots begin to soften. Add chicken stock and seasonings (bay leaves, oregano, parsley, merken, cumin, salt, and pepper) and cover with lid. Cook covered, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. Add chicken and raisins and/or olives (if using). Remove from heat and pour contents of pan into prepared glass pan (or ramekins). Lay egg slices over top evenly and set pan aside while you make the topping.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C) and combine the ingredients for corn topping in a medium saucepan or skillet. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring gently. Cool mixture for about 10 minutes then pour into a food processor or blender and pulse until almost smooth with just a bit of texture left. Pour mixture over filling in pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until edges are bubbly and top starts to brown. Serve hot