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1
Soften the Onion and Garlic
8 Mins
Medium heat, ~175°C (350°F)
Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, cumin and paprika and cook for 1 minute more, stirring all the time so the spices bloom without burning.
Bloom the spices in the oil for a full minute — it wakes up their flavour and colours the whole stew.
Done when: Onion soft and sweet-smelling; spices fragrant, not scorched.
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2
Add the Tomato and Pumpkin
5 Mins
Medium heat, ~175°C (350°F)
Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juice and cook for 3 minutes until they soften and the mixture looks saucy. Add the pumpkin cubes and stir to coat them in the sofrito.
Let the tomato cook down until it loses its raw edge — the broth will taste flat if it goes in too soon.
Done when: Tomatoes softened into a thick sauce; pumpkin coated in sofrito.
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3
Add the Beans and Broth, Then Simmer
25 Mins
Gentle simmer, ~90°C (195°F)
Add the shelled beans and the 500 ml of vegetable broth and bring the pot to a gentle simmer. Cover partway and cook for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans are tender and creamy inside and the pumpkin is soft enough to break with a spoon.
Keep it at a lazy simmer — a hard boil splits the beans and clouds the broth.
Done when: Beans tender and creamy; pumpkin breaks easily with a spoon.
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4
Add the Corn and Basil
10 Mins
Gentle simmer, ~90°C (195°F)
Stir in the corn kernels and half the torn basil leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes more until the corn is tender and sweet and the broth has thickened slightly. Taste and season with the salt and black pepper.
Corn goes in late so it stays sweet and pops — cooked from the start it turns soft and starchy.
Done when: Corn tender and sweet; broth lightly thickened and well seasoned.
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5
Rest the Stew
5 Mins
Off the heat, covered, ~70°C (160°F)
Take the pot off the heat, stir in the rest of the basil and leave it covered for 5 minutes. The flavours settle, the basil perfumes the broth, and the stew thickens a little more as it rests.
Do not skip the rest — the basil needs those 5 minutes to perfume the pot.
Done when: Stew slightly thickened; basil fragrant in the steam.
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6
Serve with Pebre and Salad
5 Mins
Serve hot, above 60°C (140°F)
Ladle the stew into deep bowls, making sure every bowl gets beans, corn and pumpkin. Serve at once with pebre or a Chilean salad of tomato, onion and coriander on the side, so everyone can spoon the fresh salad over the hot stew.
Serve the salad on the side, not in the pot — the cold crunch against the hot stew is the whole point.
Done when: Bowls full of beans, corn and pumpkin; salad bright and cold beside them.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the stew the moment it comes off the rest, with pebre and Chilean salad on the table. The salad spooned over the hot beans is what makes a Chilean summer lunch.
Chile
35m
