Traditional Chilean Dishes
The best recipe for Mote con Huesillos in the Chilean style
Prepare at home a refreshing mote con huesillos in the Chilean style: tender dried peaches, cooked wheat, and a light syrup perfumed with cinnamon, orange, and cloves.
Mote con huesillos is one of the most traditional desserts and refreshments in Chile. Its combination of soft fruit, tender mote, and sweet juice makes it ideal to serve cold on hot days.
01
Ingredients
Have everything ready before you begin.
- ✓8 dried peaches or apricots with pit
- ✓1 cup of raw wheat mote, approximately 200 g
- ✓1.5 liters of water for the peaches
- ✓4 cups of water to cook the mote
- ✓180 g of sugar
- ✓1 cinnamon stick
- ✓Peel of 1/2 orange, well washed and without the white part
- ✓2 cloves
- ✓A pinch of salt
02
Step-by-step method
- 01
Rinse the peaches quickly under cold water to remove dust or...
Rinse the peaches quickly under cold water to remove dust or impurities. Place them in a container, cover them with part of the 1.5 liters of water and let them hydrate overnight, or at least 8 hours.
- 02
Check the mote and remove any strange grains
Check the mote and remove any strange grains. Rinse it several times with cold water until the water comes out relatively clear. It is not necessary to soak it.
- 03
Put the 4 cups of water in a medium pot and add a pinch of salt
Put the 4 cups of water in a medium pot and add a pinch of salt. When it boils, add the washed mote.
- 04
Reduce the heat and cook the mote for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring...
Reduce the heat and cook the mote for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Try it from 20 minutes: it should be tender, but slightly firm and not broken.
- 05
Drain the cooked mote and pass it through a little cold water to stop...
Drain the cooked mote and pass it through a little cold water to stop the cooking. Reserve it in a clean container. If you prepare it in advance, store it covered in the refrigerator.
- 06
Place the hydrated peaches in a pot along with the soaking water
Place the hydrated peaches in a pot along with the soaking water. Add the rest of the 1.5 liters of water, sugar, cinnamon, orange peel, and cloves.
- 07
Bring the pot to medium heat until it starts to boil
Bring the pot to medium heat until it starts to boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover and cook for 35 to 45 minutes.
- 08
Check that the peaches are swollen, shiny and very tender when...
Check that the peaches are swollen, shiny and very tender when pierced with a fork. The liquid should turn into a light syrup, amber in color and spicy aroma.
- 09
Turn off the heat and remove the cinnamon, orange peel and cloves...
Turn off the heat and remove the cinnamon, orange peel and cloves. Let the preparation cool to room temperature.
- 10
Refrigerate the peaches with their syrup for at least 4 hours so...
Refrigerate the peaches with their syrup for at least 4 hours so they cool and the flavors integrate.
- 11
To serve, place 2 or 3 peaches in each glass or cup, add a generous...
To serve, place 2 or 3 peaches in each glass or cup, add a generous portion of mote and complete with cold juice. As a reference, you can use approximately 1/2 cup of mote and 250 ml of liquid per serving, adjusting the proportion to taste.
- Soaking overnight provides a softer texture to the peaches. If you are in a hurry, you can soak them for 2 hours in hot water, although slow hydration offers better texture and flavor.
- Try the juice when it is hot before modifying the sweetness. It should be sweet and perfumed, but light, not thick like jam or concentrated syrup.
- Do not overcook the mote: if it breaks, the liquid can become cloudy and the contrast between the tender grain and the soft fruit is lost.
- Keep the mote separate from the peaches if you are going to consume them the next day, so it does not absorb all the syrup.
- Serve it very cold, preferably after several hours in the refrigerator. Ice is not necessary and can dilute the flavor; if you use it, add very little just before serving.
- If you can't find peaches, look for whole dried apricots that keep the pit to approximate the traditional result.