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Humitas
Serves 6 Prep 30 min Cook 50 min Total 1 hr 20 min Type Snack Origin Chilean

Humitas

Fresh corn pulped with basil, onion and butter, wrapped in corn husks and steamed into tender parcels. The Andean / Chilean answer to a tamale, but unfilled - just sweet fresh corn, intensified. Eats hot with a sprinkle of sugar (savoury-sweet at the table) or with pebre alongside.

Serves 6 Prep 30 minutes Cook 50 minutes Units Rate

Overview

The Andean-Chilean answer to the Mexican tamale, but unfilled - just sweet fresh corn intensified by being pulped, wrapped in its own husk, and steamed into tender parcels. You shuck fresh sweetcorn and save the husks in warm water to soften. Strip the kernels: half get pulsed to a coarse paste, half stay whole, and the two textures combine in the bowl. Onion softens in butter with paprika and salt, then folds through the corn. Two tablespoons of mixture spoon onto each softened husk, the sides fold in, the ends fold down, and a thin strip of husk ties the parcel closed. Steam for forty-five minutes until the corn has set. Served hot with a sprinkle of sugar (the savoury-sweet thing happens at the table) or with pebre alongside for a saltier finish.

Ingredients

  • 6 fresh ears of sweetcorn (with their husks)
  • 1 onion (medium, finely diced)
  • 50 g butter
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 8 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
  • 2 tablespoons fine cornmeal (optional - only if mixture seems too wet)

To serve

  • Sugar (a bowl at the table - guests sprinkle to taste)
  • Pebre (Chilean salsa), optional

Method

Stage 1 - Prep husks

  1. Carefully peel husks off the corn, keeping them whole. Save the inner large leaves and a few thin strips for tying.
  2. Cover husks with warm water; soak 20 minutes to soften.
  3. Shave the kernels off the cobs with a sharp knife.

Stage 2 - Filling

  1. Pulse half the corn kernels in a food processor to a coarse paste; leave the other half whole.
  2. Soften the onion in butter over medium heat 8 minutes till translucent.
  3. Stir in the paprika, salt, white pepper; cook 30 seconds.
  4. Off heat; stir in the corn paste, whole kernels and chopped basil.
  5. If the mixture is very wet, stir in 2 tablespoons cornmeal.

Stage 3 - Wrap

  1. Drain the husks; pat dry.
  2. Lay a large husk flat (or overlap two smaller ones); spoon 3 heaped tablespoons of filling in the centre.
  3. Fold the long sides over the filling; fold the pointed end down; fold the wide end up.
  4. Tie around the middle with a thin strip of husk.

Stage 4 - Steam

  1. Set a steamer over a pot of boiling water.
  2. Pack humitas seam-side-down; cover; steam 45 minutes.

Stage 5 - Serve

  1. Lift onto a platter; let each diner unwrap their own.
  2. Provide sugar in a small bowl (a Chilean tradition: each diner sprinkles a little).
  3. Serve with pebre alongside if liked.

Notes

  • Fresh corn only: frozen kernels weep too much water; tinned has the wrong flavour. Use fresh in season.
  • Don't over-pulse: half-paste, half-whole gives the right texture. All-puréed humitas are baby food.
  • Tie firmly: loose parcels unwrap during steaming.

Storage

  • Keep 3 days refrigerated in their husks.
  • Re-steam 10 minutes to reheat.
  • Freeze 2 months; thaw overnight; re-steam.

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