Humitas con Pebre

[kirra]

Humitas con Pebre
Seasoned Corn Steamed in Corn Husks

Although humitas are sometimes called tamales, the latter are traditionally made with soaked dried corn, while humitas are based on the fresh variety. See Tips on Handling Humitas which follows below recipe for expert tips on making perfect humitas.

Humitas

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp. sweet paprika
8 ears fresh corn, in husks
2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup masa harina
Sugar
Chilean Pepper Sauce, recipe follows

Preparation:

Heat butter and oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and paprika; cook until onions are soft, about 15 minutes.

Carefully remove husks from corn without tearing; set aside. Cut off kernels, scraping milk from cobs; reserve cobs. Place corn in a food processor or blender; purée until thick. Add corn purée to onions and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until mixture is dry, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper. Mix masa harina with 1⁄2 cup of boiling water in a bowl; immediately stir into corn mixture.

To assemble, spoon 2 tbsp. corn mixture into the center of 1 husk (a tender inner leaf works best). Fold bottom edge over filling, fold in the sides, then fold over the top edge to make a neat package. Tie with a strip of corn husk. Repeat process to use up all filling.

Place a few reserved cobs on the bottom of a large saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Line pan with a few remaining husks (the tougher outer leaves), add humitas, then lay additional husks on top. Cover pan and steam over medium heat, adding water if necessary, for 1–1 1⁄2 hours. To check for doneness, unwrap 1 humita: Husk should easily pull away from filling. Cool for 10 minutes. Serve with a sprinkling of sugar and pepper sauce. Serves 6.


Notes on Handling Humitas

Cook the corn filling over medium-high heat until all the liquid has been absorbed into the mixture. The consistency should be fairly dry.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle of one of the reserved fresh corn husks. The inner leaves will be quite tender and easier to work with. If the husks are not wide enough, combine two, making sure that they overlap enough to form a tight package.

Fold the bottom edge up over the filling and then the top over the bottom, the way you'd fold a letter, then fold the sides into a squarish packet.

Use other husks torn lengthwise into long, thin strips (knot two strips together to make longer ties) to firmly secure the humitas packets.

Use the corn cobs reserved from the filling recipe to line the bottom of the pot that you will use to steam the humitas. Add enough water to the pot to cover the cobs.

Place a layer of corn husks on top of the corn cobs and line the sides of the pan with more husks. Next add the humitas, then cover them with the remaining husks. Steam over medium heat for 1 1⁄2–2 hours, adding more water if necessary to keep humitas covered.



Pebre
Chilean Pepper Sauce

Of all the pebres we sampled while exploring the rodeo cuisine of Chile, we liked this version, with tomatoes, best.

Ingredients:

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 small hot red chile (such as serrano), minced; for a milder sauce, remove veins and seeds first
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, chile, cilantro, and parsley. Add oil and red wine vinegar; season with salt and pepper.

Cover and set aside so flavors can blend, about 1 hour. Serve with Humitas. Makes 2 cups.