Curanto en Olla (Chilean Seafood, Pork, and Potato Dumpling Pot)

Ingredients

• 500g raw potatoes, peeled and finely grated (for milcao)
• 1kg potatoes, boiled and mashed (divided between milcao and chapalele)
• 3 tbsp lard, divided
• 2 tsp salt, divided
• 100g pork cracklings (chicharrones), chopped
• 200g wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1kg mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1kg clams, purged of sand
• 500g pork ribs, cut into pieces
• 500g chorizo or longaniza sausage, cut into chunks
• 4 boneless chicken thighs
• 500g smoked pork or bacon, in one piece, cubed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 6 whole small potatoes, unpeeled
• 1 head cabbage, cut into 6 wedges (stands in for traditional nalca leaves)

Before you cook

• Scrub the mussels and clams under cold running water, pulling any beards off the mussels, and discard any that stay open when tapped
• Soak the clams in salted water for 30 minutes so they release trapped sand, then drain
• Peel and finely grate the raw potatoes for the milcao, then squeeze the gratings hard in a clean kitchen towel over a bowl to extract as much liquid as possible, and let that liquid sit so the starch settles to the bottom
• Chop the pork cracklings into small pieces
• Cut the pork ribs, chorizo, and smoked pork into serving-sized pieces
• Quarter the onion and smash the garlic cloves
• Cut the cabbage into 6 wedges

Steps

1. Boil the potatoes for the milcao and chapalele together in a large pot of salted water for 20 minutes, until fork-tender
2. Drain the potatoes and mash the batch for the milcao and the batch for the chapalele separately while still warm
3. Pour off the watery liquid sitting on top of the reserved raw-potato starch, keeping the thick white paste at the bottom of the bowl
4. In a large bowl, combine the grated raw potato, half the mashed potato, the settled potato starch, half the lard, and 1 teaspoon of salt, and knead into a heavy, smooth dough for the milcao
5. Divide the milcao dough into 12 portions, flatten each into a small disc in your palm, press a few pieces of chopped pork cracklings into the center of each, and fold the dough over to seal into a ball
6. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining mashed potato with the flour, baking powder, remaining lard, and remaining salt, kneading until a soft, pliable dough forms for the chapalele
7. Shape the chapalele dough into 10 to 12 small ovals with your hands
8. Set a very large, heavy pot over high heat and warm 2 tablespoons of lard or oil
9. Add the pork ribs and cubed smoked pork and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes, turning occasionally
10. Scatter the quartered onion and smashed garlic over the browned meat
11. Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 1 minute, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot
12. Lay the whole small potatoes over the meat in an even layer
13. Arrange the chorizo and chicken thighs on top of the potatoes as the next layer
14. Place the milcao and chapalele dumplings in a layer on top, spacing them so they don't touch each other
15. Scatter the mussels and clams over the very top
16. Tuck the cabbage wedges down around the sides of the pot to help trap steam inside
17. Pour 1 cup of water around the edge of the pot without pouring it directly onto the dumplings
18. Cover the pot tightly and bring it to a boil over high heat
19. As soon as you hear it boiling, turn the heat down to low
20. Simmer undisturbed for 45 minutes without lifting the lid
21. Lift the lid and check that the mussels and clams have opened wide and the potatoes are tender when pierced, discarding any shellfish that stayed shut
22. Gently shake the whole pot from side to side, rather than stirring, to settle the layers without crushing the dumplings
23. Ladle out the broth pooled at the bottom into small cups to serve as a sipping starter
24. Pile the meats, dumplings, shellfish, and potatoes onto a large platter, keeping the layers roughly visible, and serve immediately