Charquican – potato and pumpkin and veggies done Chilean style

Chilean ''Charquican''

This dish is comfort food at it`s best. It`s tasty, fast, easy, and can be made from things you usually have on hand, and is an economical and satisfying dish that`s perfect for cold winter nights.

My former housemate, Maria Eugenia Riquelme, showed me this during the time we lived together and regulary swapped Canadian for Chilean recipe sessions.

Maria Eugenia Riquelme - guest chef

You see Charquican listed  as a daily  lunch specials on the signboards outside a lot of the local restaurants, so it`s a well known dish, at least in Valparaìso, Chile.

Raw Ingredients for Charquican, photographed just before cooking

Recipe: Charquican

1 kg potatoes, peeled and cubed

500 g (half as much) pumpkin (or hard squash), peeled and cubed. ( once I substituted a sweet potato and this worked well)

1 onion, peeled an diced

1 red pepper (seeded and diced)

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup corn kernals

1/2 cup green beans or peas or green pepper (something green)

optional – browned, ground beef (500 g or less is enough – it`s for flavor not a primary ingredient) or hard fleshed fish

optional – fried egg for on top, added just before serving

Method:

Put all ingredients in a big pot. Add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Bring to a boil and keep at a lively simmer until the potatoes and pumpkin turn naturally to puree. Serve topped with a fried egg if you wish.

So easy and tasty! Try it and see for yourself.