Chileatole

Thickened with fresh masa slaked in cold water and poured in as a slurry, which is what makes it atole rather than soup.

Not vegetarian — contains chicken stock.

Ingredients

• 150 g masa, as on its own page, or masa harina
• 4 corn cobs, kernels cut from 3, the fourth in rounds
• 2 poblano chillies
• 2 serrano chillies
• 1.5 litres water or chicken stock
• ½ onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• a large sprig of epazote
• 2 teaspoons salt
• lime wedges, to serve

Method

1. IT IS THICKENED WITH FRESH MASA SLAKED IN COLD WATER AND POURED IN AS A SLURRY, and that is what makes it an atole rather than a soup. Masa is a wet corn dough and it will not disperse in hot liquid: dropped into a simmering pot it seizes instantly into lumps with dry centres that no amount of whisking breaks down, and they are still there at the table. Worked to a smooth thin cream in cold water first -- genuinely smooth, pressed through the fingers -- and then poured into the pan in a thin stream with the other hand stirring, it thickens the whole pot evenly into something between a soup and a drink.
2. IT IS STIRRED CONTINUOUSLY FOR TEN MINUTES AFTER THE SLURRY GOES IN. Corn starch settles and catches on the base of the pan within seconds of being left alone, and a scorched patch flavours the entire pot. A wooden spoon, the base scraped, the whole time.
3. THE CORN IS USED TWO WAYS ON PURPOSE. Kernels from three cobs go in loose, and the fourth cob is cut into rounds and goes in whole to be picked up and eaten. The rounds also give up starch from the cob itself, which the loose kernels cannot.
4. THE POBLANOS ARE CHARRED AND BLENDED; THE SERRANOS GO IN WHOLE. The poblanos give colour and a mild smoky body and are blended into the liquid. The serranos provide the actual heat and go in whole, to be fished out when it is hot enough -- which is how a pot meant for a table of mixed tastes is managed.
5. IT THICKENS A GREAT DEAL AS IT COOLS AND IS LEFT LOOSER THAN WANTED. What looks right in the pan sets to a porridge in the bowl. It should pour freely off a ladle when it comes off the heat, and stock is added at the end if it does not.
6. The poblanos charred black on a dry griddle 10 minutes, left under a cloth 15 minutes, and the skins rubbed off. Stalks and seeds removed.
7. The poblanos blended with the onion, garlic and 300 ml of the water until smooth.
8. The rest of the water or stock brought to the boil in a large pot with the salt.
9. The loose corn kernels, the CORN ROUNDS and the WHOLE serrano chillies added and simmered 12 MINUTES.
10. The blended poblano mixture stirred in and simmered 5 minutes.
11. The masa worked with 300 ml of COLD water until completely SMOOTH -- pressed through the fingers to check for lumps.
12. The slurry poured into the pot in a THIN STREAM, stirring constantly with the other hand.
13. Cooked 10 MINUTES, STIRRED CONTINUOUSLY and the base scraped, until thickened and no longer tasting raw.
14. The epazote added for the last 5 minutes, then lifted out with the serranos once it is hot enough.
15. TESTED: it should POUR FREELY off a ladle. Loosened with more stock if not -- it will thicken further in the bowl.
16. Ladled into deep bowls with a corn round in each, with lime on the side.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes