Pastel de choclo is a corn casserole that is popular throughout South America. The main layer is ‘pino’, ground meat fried with onions and typical South American spices. The corn is blended with fresh basil leaves and caramelized in the oven. Traditional fillings are olives and boiled eggs, and sometimes cooked chicken. As always, we kept it simple, and you can skip a layer or make it vegetarian.
In a FOOD PROCESSOR, mix corn and basil with a little milk into a creamy paste.
In a POT, cook the corn paste with butter and salt to taste over low heat for about 20 minutes until it thickens. Stir frequently.
Pino Filling - Cook
In a PAN, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
Fry onions until they turn translucent.
Add meat, Pastel de Choclo spices, and salt to taste.
Stir-fry meat until it’s crumbled and cooked. Set aside.
Pino Filling - Assemble & Finish
Coat a BAKING DISH with oil.
Fill it in layers, starting with the meat, add eggs, olives, and optional raisins.
Finish with a thick layer of the corn paste.
Sprinkle the top thinly with sugar.
Bake
Preheat OVEN to 350°F.
Bake the pastel de choclo in the OVEN until the sugar turns brown.
Serve
Serve the pastel de choclo with a fresh salad of your choice (optional).
Enjoy!
Notes
▪ Substitute ground meat (all or partly) with chopped vegetables, for instance, root vegetables, eggplants, zucchini, or mushrooms, or with cooked shredded chicken or beef. ▪ Substitute black olives with green olives.▪ Add a small carrot (thinly sliced) to the ground meat.▪ Add shredded chicken as the second layer, on top of the ground meat.