Food in Chile Marraqueta bread

Crusty, delicious Marraqueta traditional food from Chile

This crusty bread similar to French bread is known as marraqueta, and is a traditional bread served in Chile. This picture was taken at the El Hoyo in Santiago. Marraqueta tastes great served plain, or spread with butter, or topped with a bit of pebre (see below).

Marraqueta is also popular in other countries in South America such as Argentina and Uruguay. Marraqueta is similar to French bread and may be shown on a menu as pan frances.

Hot dogs, Chilean Style ~ A tasty, inexpensive lunch or snack

The hot dog in this picture was from the Lake District Park ski hill restaurant, shown with the coffee and cookies we had as a snack. The buns were always fresh and lovely, and the hot dogs (weiners) much the same as in North America.

What set these Chilean hot dogs apart and elevated them to gastronomic heights were the sauces and add-ons served alongside - guacamole, pebre, spiced mayonnaise, diced peppers, lettuce, mustards, ketchup - the sides varied according to restaurant. In Santiago, diners stood 'belly to the bar' and put away surprising numbers of hot dogs!

Larger view of Chile hot dog ~ Completo

Throughout Santiago, I had taken note of the many stand-up hot dog stands filled with diners wolfing down very large hot dogs.

From Carmen in Valparaiso: "We call a hot dog a 'Completo'. Completo can have many toppings, as you said, but the real authentic one has avocado sauce, diced tomatoes, 'salsa Americana' or chop pickles (gherkins, carrots, chives [which I presume is a small onion called here cebolla perla] and chukrut or coleslaw (cabbage sliced in vinaigrette without carrots). Obviously covered with mayonnaise. Of course I always added hot sauce and ketchup."

Pebre a traditonal food in Chile ~ mayonnaise, cilantro, jalapeno

Pebre is a sauce served with foods from Chile to enhance the taste of the meal. Often the pebre I was served reminded me of Mexican salsa -- diced tomato, onion, coriander and lime juice -- with a unique Chile flavor.

My friend Carmen in Valparaiso Chile sent me her family traditional recipe for a nice hot pebre: green chilies, coriander leaves, and mayonnaise.

Says Carmen: "Slice the chilies, and mix everything inside your mixer machine [I tried to find the translation for that, but I couldn't] to crush and mix everything and get a creamy sauce.

"Don't forget to keep the seeds! With crusty bread (Marraqueta) it goes wonderful, but also good for potatoes, meat, soups, etc."

Bowl of prepared pebre sauce to serve with bread and cheese

Following Carmen's directions, I prepared a small bowl of pebre just as outlined above. I wasn't sure about the amounts to use, so this how I made her pebre:

To about a half cup mayonnaise, I added 2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro) and half a jalapeno without seeds. I am cautious when adding chilis to a recipe until I know how hot (spicy) that chili is. The seeds, of course, add a lot of 'heat', so I usually leave them out.

Then I used my hand blender to combine the ingredients, and tasted for salt. The mayo had enough salt so I didn't add any, and the small amount of jalapeno I used had a bit of a bite to it but could be hotter. I would be comfortable adding either a full jalapeno or using half but leaving in the seeds when I make it again. I also added a bit of lime juice for flavor. Next time, too, I will double the amounts to make more. I covered the dish with plastic wrap and it kept well in the fridge for a day.

I didn't have any marraqueta on hand, but I spread this creamy pebre on a slice of pumpernickel and ate it with some cheese. Delicious!! Thanks, Carmen!