Humitas Chilenas

Ingredients

• 12 ears of fresh sweetcorn, husks intact
• 2 white onions
• 4 tbsp lard or butter
• 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 100ml whole milk, if needed
• Caster sugar, to serve
• For the pebre: 3 tomatoes
• 1 small red onion
• 1 green chilli
• 1 small bunch coriander
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Before you cook

• Peel the husks carefully off each ear of corn, keeping the wide outer leaves whole and intact
• Rinse the husks and set aside the widest ones, plus a few torn into long strips to use as ties
• Cut the kernels from the cobs, standing each cob in a bowl to catch them
• Finely dice the white onions
• Finely dice the pebre tomatoes, red onion, chilli and coriander and mix them with the vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt

Steps

1. Melt the lard in a wide pan over medium-low heat.
2. Cook the diced onion with the salt and paprika for 15 minutes, until it is completely soft and has gone translucent without browning.
3. Blitz the corn kernels and basil leaves in a food processor to a thick, slightly grainy paste.
4. Scrape the corn paste into the pan with the onion and stir it together well.
5. Cook the mixture over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
6. Add a splash of milk only if the corn was starchy and the mixture has gone stiff.
7. Taste the mixture and season it firmly, then leave it to cool for 15 minutes so it is easier to handle.
8. Overlap two husks on the worktop, wide ends together, to make a broad leaf.
9. Spoon a heaped tablespoon and a half of the corn mixture into the centre.
10. Fold the long sides of the husks over the filling, then fold the two ends up to make a neat rectangular parcel.
11. Tie the parcel around the middle with a strip of husk, knotting it firmly but not tight enough to squeeze the filling out.
12. Repeat until all the mixture is used, which should give you around 12 humitas.
13. Bring a large pan of salted water to a rolling boil and lower the parcels in.
14. Weigh them down with a heatproof plate so they stay submerged.
15. Simmer the humitas for 40 minutes, until a parcel opened as a test holds together as a soft set cake.
16. Lift the humitas out with tongs and drain them well.
17. Serve them in their husks for people to open at the table, with a bowl of sugar for the traditionalists and the pebre for everyone else.