AROUND THE WORLD

 Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about 

Chilean dishes

There is a large variety of typical dishes of Chile, which is being lost little by little in gastronomy.

Ajiaco (Meat soup)

This is not strictly speaking a Chilean dish; for instance, it is also found in Bogotá, Colombia. However, the Chilean version is generally done with the meat leftovers of a big barbecue, and it is good when you have a somehow mild hangover. Into the broth with the barbecued meat cut into dice, add potatoes, chopped onions, green hot chili peppers, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. This tasty soup helps to mend the body or the hangover and to get one’s strength back, whether it is to go to work or to continue celebrating whatever it is that has to be celebrated.

Arrollado huaso (Pork roll peasant style)

When a pig is ready to be slaughtered after a long fattening up, it means winter is knocking at the door of the homes in the South and so, nothing is wasted and almost everything in the animal is made use of, as to wave away the cold or to celebrate some Saint in the middle of June. To make this pork roll, or arrollado, the ingredients include pork meat pulp, slices of bacon, garlic, pepper and cumin to taste; it is then rolled in pork skin, “painting” the resulting cylinder with chili pepper sauce and tying it with string. It is then cooked in a broth while the relatives begin to arrive attracted by the tasty smell of this meal. The huaso, or peasant style part, comes from the chili pepper sauce, red and cheerful from the stove heat and the wine celebrating some local Saint.

Caldillo de congrio (Conger eel soup)

Pablo Neruda dedicated an ode to it that made it forever famous, especially in Isla Negra, where the poet lived. However, this soup is served all along the coast in Central Chile and even a little farther south of Talcahuano. Invigorating and not at all heavy, there is a variety of ways to prepare it, but it is always steaming hot and served in a clay dish, accompanied with mussels and clams in addition to a good white wine to honor it.

Carbonada (Vegetables and meat minestrone-like soup)

It is a very traditional winter stew of the Chilean cuisine. There are versions of this soup in other cuisines of Latin America and here in Chile, it is prepared with potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, green beans and varied seasonings, plus meat cut into small pieces. It is served in a soup dish with abundant broth sprinkled with parsley.

Cazuela nogada (Cazuela stew with walnut sauce)

The cazuela is not an exclusively Chilean dish, but in the El Almendral area, in the province of Chacabuco and close to Los Andes, they make the Poultry Cazuela with Walnut Sauce. It is an ingenious and invigorating dish to help survive lovesickness or too long celebrations, or otherwise to recover from a long trip.

And as always have a chilled day from the Viking