comfort food

There are dishes that define a country, and then there are dishes that define its spirit. For Chile, especially the colorful port city of Valparaíso, that dish is Chorillana — a glorious, messy, satisfying pile of French fries, beef, caramelized onions, and fried eggs, often shared among friends with a cold beer on the side.

It’s not elegant or fancy, but that’s the whole point. Chorillana is food made for sharing, for laughter, for late nights filled with stories. It’s the kind of dish that brings people together, whether you’re at a bustling picada (local eatery) or sitting at a bar watching the sun dip into the Pacific.

When summer arrives in Chile, fields turn golden with fresh corn, and kitchens fill with the aroma of humitas. This beloved dish, derived from Mapuche traditions, is a type of steamed corn tamale made from ground fresh corn

If you’re ready for a taste of Chile’s wild, misty islands, curanto is the communal feast that’ll have you dreaming of Chiloé’s rugged shores. This ancient dish—layers of seafood, meats, potatoes, and dumplings steamed in an earth oven

I always say that every Chilean family has their own way of making empanadas de pino, and that is true. But for me, the way I learned from my own mamá in Valparaíso is the way I still do it today. It carries the smell of Sundays, the chatter of cousins running around, and the feeling that home is always close, even when life takes you far away.

So let me tell you how it goes, from the heart of a Chilean abuelita who has spent many afternoons with flour-dusted hands and a warm oven humming in the kitchen.

Every country seems to have a dish that feels like a warm hug, the kind of food you eat on a Sunday with family gathered around the table. In Chile, that dish is Pastel de Choclo—a golden corn and beef casserole that manages to be both sweet and savory at once.

I still remember my first taste of it in Santiago’s Central Valley. It came bubbling hot, baked in a small clay pot, the top a golden crust of sweet corn purée.