Charquican- Chilean Stew

Submitted by Kitchen Witch Steph

"A hearty Chilean stew that hold a lot of versatility. A good use for leftover meat and for using whatever vegetable you have on hand. Found this on About.com. Have yet to try. Chili pepper amount will very depending on the type of pepper you use and how spicy you like it. Posted for ZWT4, South America."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 25mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 lb meat (anything left over is good, ground roasted best)
• 2 ears corn, cut off cob and very finely ground
• 1 lb assorted fresh vegetable
• 2 tablespoons lard (or vegetable oil)
• 2 cups broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• chili pepper (of your choice or cayenne pepper)
• 8 potatoes, cut into rough chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 -6 eggs (1 egg per serving)

directions

1. First, fry meat in lard or oil with the onion, corn, chile peppers, salt and oregano.
2. When the onion is soft, add the potatoes, vegetables and broth.
3. Let simmer until the vegetables are cooked.
4. Serve with a fried egg on top of each serving.

Reviews

[marceladns]

The true chilean charquican has equal amounts of potatoes & butternut (or acorn) squash, this recipe has no squash at all. Also you should be able to see the pieces of corn. Ground corn is most used in bean stews (porotos), and it's called "mazamorra". Squash is used a lot in Chile during winter, even for dessert (Pumpkin fritters). Thanks!

 

[Andres P.]

I'm not sure what this is, but it certainly isn't charquican. I've never had charquican without squash, neither by my family here in the states nor in Chile. This is like making fajitas with no bell peppers or onions. If you want to post an inferior variation of a recipe that isn't representative of a cultural food then fine, do so. Just don't try to pass it off as something it's not.

 

[justcallmetoni]

The last day of the ZWT and I was looking for a rather quick but comforting meal when I came across this recipe. What a marvelous way to grab up the bits and pieces in the icebox and turn them into a new and versatile entree. In my own rendering, I used leftover chicken diced into small cubes. (I figured anything meant anything and I wasn't going to use horse meat as it was historically prepared, why not.) For the veggies I put a bowl on a scale and just kept chopping until I had a pound; a combination of celery, carrots, red peppers, green peppers, and cherry tomatoes. The final dish is a blend of a hash and stew with bits of potatoes vegetables and meat suspended in a slightly thickened sauce made from the broth and pureed corn. The flavor of the sauce was nicely blended with the peppers and oregano and created a nice way to unify the overall dish. The whole meal, including frying the eggs was less than an hour and would be perfect for a brunch with some pan dulce. Gracias Kitchen Witch Steph!