Serves 8
Corn is one of those ingredients you could use over and over in countless preparations, either savory or sweet, and never get tired of it. In Peru for instance, we have innumerable ways of using this ingredient, but one of the most popular, without a doubt, is our beloved corn pudding, or pastel de choclo, filled with beef, raisins, black olives, and hard-boiled eggs.
⅓ cup vegetable oil, divided
1 pound ground beef
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup beef stock
½ cup raisins
3 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
½ cup sliced black olives
4 cups fresh white corn kernels
½ cup half and half
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper
5 eggs, whites and yolks separated
1 egg yolk combined with 2 tablespoons water
¼ teaspoon aniseed
1. Heat ¼ cup oil in a skillet over high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Transfer to a bowl. In the same skillet heat the remaining oil, add onion and garlic, and cook stirring a few times until transparent. Add tomato paste, and beef stock or water, cook for 5 minutes, and return the meat to the pan. It should be saucy.
2. Incorporate raisins, hard-boiled eggs, and olives. Stir and turn off the heat. Reserve.
3. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a blender process the corn kernels with milk and melted butter. Add sugar, salt, pepper, and egg yolks. Transfer to a bowl, and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture looks very soft. Beat the egg whites until firm, and fold into the corn mixture.
4. Have a rectangular baking pan ready. Pour half the corn mixture in the pan, cover with the cooked beef and top with the remaining corn. Brush the surface of the corn with the egg yolk and water mixture, sprinkle with aniseed, and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and firm.
5. Serve with ají amarillo sauce, Huancaina sauce, or salsa criolla.
Make it vegetarian using slices of queso fresco or feta, and sliced black olives as the filling.