Chile is the longest country in the world, with its 4,329 km in length, which is equivalent to one tenth of the circumference of the Earth. A large area that allows you to travel between its regions trying different very unique dishes. On the occasion of the ‘Chilean Food Week’, Chile Travel wants the world to meet its most and least known dishes outside its borders.
During this week, Chileans have been celebrating ‘Chilean Food Week’ for 10 years, an opportunity to value the country’s culture through its gastronomy. The objective is to show the world the culinary wealth of Chile that, together with different Spanish influences, as well as German, French and Italian, make up a cuisine full of intense flavors and great color.
Delicacies of the sea to open your mouth
To start the tasting of Chilean food in the Magallanes region, you can try the Magellan crab in Puerto Natales. It is a crustacean found in the cold waters of the south. Its meat, once cooked and shredded, can be used in stews or soups. Another option to ‘peck’ are the clams parmesan that come from the Arica and Parinacota area. Its main ingredients are lemon, butter, pepper and tomato, and of course Parmesan cheese. It should be noted that the final touch in this dish is given by the Socoroma oregano, an aromatic herb that is grown at more than 3,000 meters high and that offers an exquisite flavor to this dish. Nor should you miss the opportunity to taste the famous oysters from the Coquimbo region, well known for its different preparations with seafood. The oysters in the area are recommended to be eaten directly from the sea to the mouth or with a touch of lemon and salt for less daring diners.
Great dishes full of flavor
In Chilean cuisine, the wide variety of recipes is evident thanks to the different traditions that exist in each area of the country. As is the case in the Biobío region, its best-known dish is the San Juan stew, formerly it was prepared to celebrate the feast of San Juan, hence its name. Or in the Tarapacá region, here huatia or guatia is the best-known dish. It is a traditional Andean meal that is prepared by covering it with some alfalfa leaves, earth and stone. Inside these leaves, pork, beef, alpaca, chicken or lamb are cooked together with potatoes, beans or vegetables with skin.
In Chilean cuisine, the Spanish influence is more than evident. Chile’s oldest olive oil production is found in the Atacama region. Almost 500 years ago, the Spanish brought the first olive trees to reach the American continent to the Huasco Valley. Therefore, here you can taste dishes made with olive oil.
Chilean pairing, beyond its delicious wines
To accompany these dishes you can taste a large number of Chilean wines. Reds, whites, rosés, there is a great variety of wines that can be tasted depending on the dish that is eaten. But to make a difference in this ‘Chilean Food Week’, muday is the perfect drink. It is a traditional concoction of the Mapuche people. It is an alcoholic drink made from the fermentation of grains such as corn, wheat or pine nuts, a native seed of the area.
Exotic fruits put the finishing touch
There is always room for a dessert and the occasion deserves it. If there is something that differentiates Chilean desserts from the rest, it is the use of different exotic fruits available in the country. In the Maule region you can eat Torta Curicana, one of the most typical and representative cakes in Chile. These are round doughs made with flour and which can be filled with almonds, walnuts or delicacy, the Chilean dulce de leche.
For more information please visit www.chile.travel
EuropeanLife Magazine 2021