Quínoa Chilena con Zapallo

A southern Chilean quinoa and squash dish seasoned with merkén, the smoked chilli of the Mapuche

Origin: South-Central Chile (Mapuche country)

From the journey of Quinoa.

In the cool, green country of south-central Chile, the Mapuche people grew quinoa, which they call dawe or kinwa, alongside the maize, beans, and squash of their gardens long before the Inca or the Spanish came. The Chilean quinoa is a thing apart, the coastal, lowland ecotype adapted to the long days and mild conditions of the temperate south rather than the thin air of the high Altiplano, and it was this very type that would later make possible the cultivation of quinoa in Europe and the temperate world. In its own country it goes into the hearty cooking of the south, simmered with the sweet squash (zapallo) of the indigenous garden and seasoned with merkén, the smoked, sun-dried chilli that is the signature spice of the Mapuche kitchen. This dish brings those native partners together: fluffy quinoa folded through soft, golden squash, the whole warmed and reddened with merkén and rounded with onion and garlic. It is country food, sustaining and earthy, and it speaks to the southern Chilean and Mapuche tradition of cooking quinoa with the vegetables of the same ground rather than the milk and cheese of the northern Andes. A modern revival of quinoa-growing in the Araucanía and Bío Bío regions has brought the grain back to Chilean tables, often in just this kind of preparation. The smoked warmth of the merkén is what makes it unmistakably Chilean; without it the dish would be merely quinoa and squash, but with it the preparation carries the particular flavour of the Mapuche south.

Ingredients

Dish

  • 200 g white quinoa, rinsed thoroughly under cold water
  • 500 g squash or pumpkin (zapallo), peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp merkén (Mapuche smoked chilli), or to taste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500 ml vegetable stock
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Finish

  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander or parsley, to finish

Method

  1. Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in cold water until it runs clear, to wash away the saponins. Drain.
  2. Heat the oil in a wide pan and soften the onion for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, merkén, and cumin and cook for a minute until fragrant.
  3. Add the cubed squash and stir to coat in the spiced oil. Cook for a few minutes.
  4. Add the rinsed quinoa and the stock, season with salt, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover.
  5. Cook, covered, for about 18 to 20 minutes, until the quinoa has uncurled its tails, the squash is tender, and the liquid is absorbed. Some of the squash will collapse and bind the dish.
  6. Season with salt and pepper, fork through gently, and finish with the chopped herbs. Serve warm.

Notes

Merkén, the smoked and ground ají cacho de cabra of the Mapuche, is the defining flavour; smoked paprika with a pinch of chilli is the nearest substitute. Beans, sweetcorn, or chard can be added in the southern Chilean spirit of cooking quinoa with the vegetables of the garden. Good warm as a main or a side.

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Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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