Four typical Chilean meals to enjoy in winter

Chilean cooking has won important awards around the world in the last few years, and we want you to try it and raise the temperature this winter in Chile.

When the temperature begins to drop and we welcome winter, it makes us want to eat foods such as broths, doughs, and stews.

Here are some typical Chilean winter dishes that you can make at home or taste in restaurants.

1. Chilean Sopaipillas, a popular Chilean street food

Sopaipillas with delicious Chilean pebre.

Sopaipillas are eaten in all regions in Chile, and the best thing of all, they can be combined in many ways.

The preparation of its dough takes pumpkin, dissolved butter, wheat flour, a little salt, milk, and oil to fry them. They can also be cooked in the oven or in an air fryer.

This winter preparation goes with many things. Some people like it with powdered sugar, bathed in chancaca, with pebre, with mustard, and countless other side dishes. Try them with anything you like!

2. Chicken or beef cazuela: an exquisite broth

Chilean cazuela is prepared with chicken or beef, depending on the consumer’s taste.

When winter arrives, it’s the perfect time to enjoy a delicious cazuela: the perfect combination of something liquid and something solid.

This Chilean winter meal has a piece of meat that can be beef or poultry, as well as vegetables such as yellow pumpkin, potato, corn, and green beans. Some people even add rice to it, but since there are tastes for everyone, in each par tof this country they put some magical secret in which identifies the region.

3. Curanto and Chilean ancestral cuisine

After being prepared underground, curanto is served in a soup bowl.

This winter meal has a very particular characteristic. It is traditionally cooked in a hole that is made directly in the ground, which is prepared to reach the optimal cooking temperature using hot stones.

This dish is typical of Chiloé and has its roots in the Mapuche people. It is made up of shellfish, fish, meat, and vegetables. Hot stones are added and to conserve the heat, the hole is covered with nalca or pangue leaves.

It is a very typical winter meal, which apart from being able to enjoy its flavors, is something truly unique in its preparation, adding even more value to this great dish.

4. Pastel de choclo was given a prize by Taste Atlas

Pastel de choclo on a clay plate

Although the corn harvest takes in the summer, reviving this dish in winter is always welcome, and several restaurants in Chile sell it all year-round.

Pastel de choclo represents Chile very well, so much that it was chosen as the best stew in the world according to Taste Atlas, a renowned digital cooking magazine.

The base of this preparation contains pino mix made of meat, onion, chicken, and some other vegetables for seasoning, along with condiments like salt. On top of this pino mix goes the pastry cream, made with corn, and since there is nothing written in tastes, there are people who decide to sprinkle a little sugar on top of the pastry cream to add sweetness to the dish or to add diced tomatoes.

Dare to cook one of these dishes at home, giving it a special twist that is entirely yours and makes it more unique.