Tarta de Choclo-Corn Tart

  Buenos Aires, 1905--Tango is the underground dance of bordellos and seedy nightclubs.  While members of Argentina's Creole upper class dine out to the tune of an orchestra, tango's popularity is on the rise in the streets.  Angel Villoldo composes his best tango yet, telling his friend, pianist Jose Luis Roncallo, that he wants to play the song that night for the ritzy clientele at the restaurant where Roncallo and his orchestra play.  Roncallo balks at the idea-play a tango for the elite crowd at the exclusive Restaurante Americano?  Never.  But, being the friend that he is, and finding the tune so compelling, Roncallo and his orchestra decide to play the song anyway, disguising it as a "danza Criolla"-a Creole dance.  The rest, as they say, is history-the song became wildly popular and a classic was born.

And the name of the tune?  El Choclo-the ear of corn.  Villoldo, who loved his song "...from the very first note" also found the ear of corn to be the tastiest ingredient in a meat and vegetable stew called puchero.  To earn a living was commonly referred to as 'earning the puchero', (the reference here being that writing this tango was the 'tastiest' way to earn a living) and Villoldo hoped the song would bring him success and help him earn a living, hence bestowing this odd name on the song. 

Choclo is also the main ingredient in tarta de choclo, a tart filled with corn.  It's meant to be sweet rather than savory, though not as sweet as a dessert filling would be. This filling can also be used as a filling in empanadas.  It's a very simple dish, which would be great as a starter or a side, or a simple dinner with a salad, bread and a bottle of red wine.  This is how I make tarta 'El Choclo':

Open a bottle of wine.  Put on a Tango CD and put volume up.  While making the tarta, banish winter (or anytime!) blues by dancing the tango in the kitchen-alone, with baby, or with husband (who may be unavailable due to long work hours, baby bath time duties, or general aversion to dance steps).  Drink wine in between tango steps and wait for the tarta to come out of the oven.

                                        Receta por Tarta de Choclos

                                                Recipe for Corn Tart

1 Tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 eggs, hardboiled then peeled and chopped

2 ears of corn OR 1 can of creamed sweet corn

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 pie crust rounds-either your recipe for pie crust OR Pillsbury pre-made Pie Crusts

1 teaspoon sugar

pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Heat the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and saute the onions until translucent.  Add the corn, either the canned creamed sweet corn or 2 ears, boiled until tender, kernels cut off, and mixed in with onion with a few tablespoons of milk and a spoonful of cornstarch to thicken.  Add the sugar, pepper and cheese. Heat through until the cheese is melted.  Remove form heat and let cool slightly.

Put 1 pie crust onto a round pan.  Put corn mixture onto the center of the pie crust.  Sprinkle with chopped egg pieces.  Cover with second pie crust round and seal the edge all the way around by twisting the dough, so that none of the filling seeps out during baking.

Bake until crust is golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.  Cut into wedges, it can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature.

Comments

[amanda]

Honestly, your blog has become one of my favorite reads! The way you write of the Argentinian culture and the food makes me want to hop on a jet and be at your table by dinner time :) My friends and I have been talking about vacationing in Buenas Aires so if we end up going, you are going to have to give all the 411 about this beautiful country.

[Gretchen Noelle]

Oohh, we have pastel de choclo which is the corn made into a paste with a meat sauce between layers of corn. Different than this. Okay, and what is puchero in Argentina? We have a dish here called puchero...curious if it the same?

[Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)]

Can you use frozen corn kernels for this? As the corn season here in New England is so short, I often keep good quality frozen corn in my pantry. Can't wait to try this dish!

[Rosa]

That pie looks great! I've just discovered your blog and I wanted to tell you that I love it... Thanks for making us discover your country's wonderful recipes!

Cheers,

Rosa

[Ley]

So, I totally read that title as "chocolate-corn tart."

The corn tart looks quite delicious! It makes me wish I could eat corn. YUM! I'm just very glad there isn't chocolate in it. lol.

[Stacy]

This looks so good! I love corn and I'm always up for a new way to make it--I'll definitely try this.

[Jen of a2eatwrite]

Wow - great recipe AND great story. I bet my whole family will like this one - not an easy feat these days. Thank you!

[Victoria (not_blue)]

Hello, I found you on Tastespotting. I am argentinian and I think your blog is great! I have never heard of Tarta de Choclos, but I never actually lived in Argentina. It looks really tasty! Now I have to ask my family why we never ate this when I was a child :).

[Paz]

I have my tango CD. All I need to gather is the ingredients for this delicious sounding recipe! Thanks!

Paz

[Kevin]

That looks really good! I like the thought of a cheesy corn pie with a flaky golden brown crust. Bookmarked

[michelle @ TNS]

ooh, this looks so, so good. i mean really, really good. cheese, corn, flaky crust...yum.

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

I'm having a great time wandering around your blog. Very interesting posts re Argentinian culture and food. Thanks for sharing!

Love this tart. My weakness is flaky pastry like that. Do you have a favourite pie crust recipe?

[April]

My favorite empanada is Choclo from an Argentine restaurant that I frequent. They removed it from the menu to my disappointment, but I just happen to find your site with the recipe and I am so so HAPPY! Muchos Gracias!!!!! :)