Veracruz Corn and Chile Pottage (Chileatole)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy clay cazuela or 4-quart Dutch oven
• •Blender
• •Wooden spoon
• •Sharp knife for cutting corn from the cob

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the corn

   Cut the kernels from the cobs into a wide bowl so you catch the milky juices. Scrape each cob with the back of the knife. That sweet corn milk belongs in the pot. If the kernels look dry and hard, the market sold you old corn. Chileatole needs tender elote.

2. 2

   Blend the base

   Put half the corn kernels in a blender with the serrano chiles, onion, garlic, and 1 cup of the water or broth. Blend until mostly smooth. You are not making a fine sauce. You want body from the corn, with a little texture left to remind you this came from an ear of elote.

3. 3

   Dissolve the masa

   In a bowl, whisk the fresh masa with 1 cup of the water or broth until smooth. If using masa harina, whisk it with the liquid and let it hydrate for 5 minutes, then whisk again. Do this before it touches the heat. Masa thrown straight into a boiling pot makes lumps. That is not Veracruz. That is impatience.

   Fresh nixtamal masa gives better corn flavor than masa harina. Masa harina works, but it is a compromise, not an upgrade.
4. 4

   Fry the puree

   Heat the manteca de cerdo in a heavy clay cazuela or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the blended corn and chile puree. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until the raw onion smell disappears and the color turns a deeper green-yellow. La manteca es el sabor, even in a modest pot like this.

5. 5

   Simmer the pottage

   Add the remaining whole corn kernels, the remaining 4 cups water or broth, and the salt. Bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the dissolved masa in a thin stream, whisking as you pour. Cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the chileatole thickens enough to coat the spoon but still moves like a loose porridge.

6. 6

   Add epazote

   Tie the epazote sprigs with kitchen twine or leave them whole so you can remove them later. Add them to the pot for the last 6 minutes of cooking. Epazote is strong. It should sharpen the corn, not bully it. Taste for salt now, because masa absorbs more seasoning than people expect.

7. 7

   Serve hot

   Remove the epazote sprigs. Ladle the chileatole into deep clay bowls. Scatter a little queso fresco over the top if using, and set lime halves and warm corn tortillas on the table. Eat it with a spoon while the surface is glossy and the corn is still sweet. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy elote when the kernels are plump and tight, with silk that still feels fresh. Ask the women at the market which ears are for boiling today. Preguntale a las señoras del mercado. They know before any cookbook knows.
• •Use chile serrano for the Veracruz green bite. Jalapeno is acceptable when serrano is poor at the market, but it tastes rounder and less sharp. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •Do not confuse chileatole with sweet breakfast atole. This is savory corn pottage. It belongs with epazote, salt, chile, and tortillas, not cinnamon and sugar.
• •If you want a richer pot, use light chicken broth. If the corn is excellent, water is enough. Good elote does not need a crowd around it.

Advance Preparation

• •Cut the corn kernels up to one day ahead and refrigerate them with the scraped corn milk in a covered container.
• •The chileatole thickens as it sits. Reheat gently with splashes of water or broth, stirring until it loosens back into a spoonable pottage.
• •Do not add epazote during advance cooking. Add fresh epazote only when reheating so the flavor stays clean.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)