Pastel de Papas Chileno (Chilean Potato & Beef Gratin)

About This Recipe

Pastel de papas is the winter counterpart of pastel de choclo — when fresh corn is out of season and the Andes settle into cold months, Chilean families substitute the corn crust with a thick layer of mashed potato, producing a gratin that is simultaneously more filling, more yielding and arguably more comforting than its summertime cousin. The same pino filling — ground beef, onion, cumin, raisins, olives, boiled egg — is encased between layers of creamy mashed potato enriched with butter and milk, the top layer scored with a fork into ridges that brown and crisp in the oven. The dish belongs to the category of Chilean home cooking that is never seen in upscale restaurants but appears on virtually every family table during winter months. It is considered comfort food of the highest order — the kind of dish grandmothers make on cold Sunday afternoons. The double role of potato as binder and topping concentrates the umami of the pino into the filling layer while the mash absorbs the cooking juices from the meat. Pastel de papas is deeply related to the Shepherd's Pie tradition that British immigrants brought to Chile during the 19th century mining boom in the Atacama, though the pino filling with its raisins, olives and hard-boiled eggs has made the dish emphatically Chilean rather than British.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.2 kgfloury potatoes(peeled and cut into chunks)
• 80 gunsalted butter
• 0.5 cupwarm whole milk
• 1 tspsalt(for the mash)
• 500 gground beef
• 3 largewhite onions(finely diced)
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 2 tspcumin
• 2 tspsweet paprika
• 1 tspsalt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 3 tbspraisins
• 16pitted black olives
• 3hard-boiled eggs(quartered)
• 1egg yolk(beaten, for glazing the top)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the pino filling

   Heat oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat. Cook onion 20 minutes until very soft and golden. Raise heat, add beef, cook until browned. Season with cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. Add raisins and a splash of water. Simmer 5 minutes. Cool completely.

2. 2

   Make the mashed potato

   Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, 20 minutes. Drain. Rice or mash them thoroughly — no lumps. Beat in butter and warm milk. Season well with salt.

   The mash needs to be firmer than you would eat as a side dish — too loose and the layers collapse during baking.

3. 3

   Assemble the gratin

   Preheat oven to 200°C. Butter a large baking dish (30×20 cm). Spread half the mash in an even layer. Spread all the pino filling over the mash. Arrange olive halves and egg quarters over the filling. Spread the remaining mash on top, smoothing it flat, then drag a fork across the surface to create ridges.

4. 4

   Glaze and bake

   Brush the top with beaten egg yolk. Bake 30–35 minutes until the top is golden and crisped at the ridges.

5. 5

   Rest and serve

   Let the pastel de papas rest 10 minutes before cutting — this allows the layers to firm up and makes portioning clean. Cut into squares and serve with a simple green salad.

Variations

• •

  Pastel de papas con pollo: replace beef with shredded poached chicken.

• •

  Vegetarian version: use sautéed mushrooms, lentils and spinach with the same spices as the pino.

Storage

Refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in a 180°C oven for 15 minutes, or in a microwave. The crust will re-crisp in the oven but not the microwave.

Frequently Asked Questions