Pastel de Choclo with Knife-Cut Beef Pino and White-Wine Chicken

Method

1. Put the beef in the freezer for 20 min so it firms up and slices cleanly. Cut it into 0.5 cm slices, then into small 0.5 cm dice. This traditional Chilean pino picado a cuchillo (knife-cut pino) is juicier and has far better texture than ground meat.

   Add in this stepBeef sirloin 240 g

2. Chop the onions into 0.5 cm pieces. Melt the lard in a 24 cm pan on medium-low heat and cook the onion slowly for 22 min, until very soft and jammy-sweet (pale gold at most). Add half the minced garlic, the cumin, paprika, merkén and oregano and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Turn up to medium-high heat, add the beef and cook for 6 min, just until the red disappears from the outside (any longer and it toughens). Add the stock, salt and pepper and let it bubble until reduced by half, juicy but not soupy, then spread it on a wide plate and cool for at least 30 minutes. Cooling lets the flavours meld and stops the corn layer from sinking when you assemble.

   Add in this stepLard 1½ tbspMedium onions 2Garlic cloves 1Ground cumin ¾ tspSweet paprika 1½ tspMerkén (or smoked paprika with a pinch of chilli flakes) ½ tspDried oregano ¾ tspBeef stock 150 mlSalt 0.6 tspBlack pepper to taste

   medium-low heat→medium-high heat

3. Pat the chicken dry and season with the salt. Heat the oil in a 20 cm pan on medium-high heat and sear the chicken skin side down for 5 min, until crisp and golden. Flip, add the rest of the garlic (crushed) and the wine, cover and cook on low heat for 15 min. When the thickest part reaches 75 °C or the juices run clear, cut into 3 cm pieces and keep the pan juices.

   Add in this stepBoneless skin-on chicken thighs 200 gSalt 0.4 tspVegetable oil 1 tbspGarlic cloves 1Dry white wine 80 ml

   medium-high heat→low heat

4. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and adjust to medium heat. Lower in the eggs straight from the fridge with a ladle and cook for 10 min. Plunge them straight into iced water: the yolks stay free of a grey ring and the shells peel easily. Peel and quarter them.

   Add in this stepEggs 1

   medium heat

5. Stand each cob upright in a large bowl and slice the kernels off from top to bottom, then scrape the cob with the back of the knife to collect the remaining corn milk. Blend the kernels, corn milk, basil and milk into a purée with a little texture. Melt the butter in a 18 cm pot, add the purée and salt and cook on medium-low heat for 18 min, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick; stir in the cream for the last 2 minutes for a silky finish. It spits, so wear long sleeves and keep a lid half over the pot.

   Add in this stepFresh corn on the cob 3Fresh basil leaves 10Milk 70 mlButter 30 gSalt ½ tspDouble cream 40 ml

   medium-low heat

6. Heat the oven to 200 °C. Spread the cooled pino in a 1 L ovenproof dish (ideally clay), spoon over the chicken and its juices, then tuck in the eggs, olives and raisins evenly. Cover with the pastelera, sealing it right to the edges, rough up the surface with a fork and sprinkle evenly with the sugar. The ridges caramelise deeply in every groove.

   Add in this stepBlack olives 6Raisins 2 tbspSugar 2 tsp

7. Set the dish on a baking tray and bake at oven for 30 min. When the edges bubble and the top turns golden, switch to the top grill (oven) for the last 3 min and watch until the sugar turns dark brown in patches. Rest it for 10 minutes before serving; the filling is extremely hot.

   oven