← Nouns Cooking · Brazilian & Peruvian

Ingredients

• 8 fresh ears of corn, with their husks
• 40 g Butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• 60 ml Milk
• 3 tbsp fine cornmeal, if needed
• 1 tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Black pepper

Method

1. Cut the base off each ear of corn and gently unwrap the husks, keeping the large ones whole. Rinse them and soak in hot water so they stay pliable. Pull off the silk.
2. Grate the kernels off the cobs on the coarse side of a box grater (or cut them off and pulse briefly in a food processor) to a thick, milky pulp.
3. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion with the paprika for 8 min, until very soft. Stir it into the corn with the basil, milk, salt and pepper. The mix should be thick; if it is runny, stir in the cornmeal.
4. Overlap two husks, put 2–3 tbsp filling in the middle, fold in the sides and then the ends to make a neat parcel. Tie around the middle with string or a thin strip of husk.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, lower in the humitas and simmer for 30–40 min, until the filling is firm when pressed. Drain and rest for 5 min before unwrapping.

Tips

• In Ecuador, humitas are richer, with cheese, eggs and a little sugar mixed in, and they are steamed rather than boiled.
• Chileans eat them with ensalada chilena, and some like a sprinkle of sugar on top.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Cocina Chilena (Pilar Hernández) Laylita’s Recipes