flipMote con huesillos
Mote con huesillos
Why this dish? An iconic summer drink-dessert of Santiago, sold on every street corner and in parks. For a Chilean woman who knew the plazas and markets of her city, mote con huesillos is the popular, nostalgic taste of childhood and hot afternoons.
A tall glass where rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos) swim in an amber cinnamon syrup over a bed of cooked wheat grains (mote). Half-drink, half-dessert, sweet and refreshing, finished with a spoon.
When the Santiago sun beats down, nothing beats a well-chilled mote con huesillos, served in a tall glass where the spoon stands upright from all the wheat! You soak the dried peaches the night before, let them confit in cinnamon syrup, and the wheat settles at the bottom. It's the people's drink, bought from the cart in the park — and believe me, no palate can replace it.
- •Huesillos (whole dried peaches) — one per glass (fruit)
- •Mote (cooked husked wheat grains) — a good spoonful per glass (base)
- •Brown sugar or chancaca (panela) — to sweeten (syrup)
- •Cinnamon (stick) — one stick (flavor)
Mote con huesillos
A tall glass where rehydrated dried peaches (huesillos) swim in an amber cinnamon syrup over a bed of cooked wheat grains (mote). Half-drink, half-dessert, sweet and refreshing, finished with a spoon.
Why this dish? An iconic summer drink-dessert of Santiago, sold on every street corner and in parks. For a Chilean woman who knew the plazas and markets of her city, mote con huesillos is the popular, nostalgic taste of childhood and hot afternoons.
When the Santiago sun beats down, nothing beats a well-chilled mote con huesillos, served in a tall glass where the spoon stands upright from all the wheat! You soak the dried peaches the night before, let them confit in cinnamon syrup, and the wheat settles at the bottom. It's the people's drink, bought from the cart in the park — and believe me, no palate can replace it.
Ingredients (period version)
- Huesillos (whole dried peaches) — one per glass (fruit)
- Mote (cooked husked wheat grains) — a good spoonful per glass (base)
- Brown sugar or chancaca (panela) — to sweeten (syrup)
- Cinnamon (stick) — one stick (flavor)
Ingredients
- Dried peaches (huesillos) — 8 (fruit)
- Hulled wheat (mote) or risotto rice — 150 g (base)
- Brown sugar — 150 g (syrup)
- Cinnamon stick — 1 (flavor)
- Water — 1.5 L (liquid)
Method
- Soak dried peaches in cold water for a few hours (ideally overnight).
- Cook them in their water with sugar and cinnamon for 30-40 min until tender and an amber syrup forms; let cool.
- Separately, cook the wheat in water until tender, drain, and rinse.
- When serving, put a spoonful of wheat at the bottom of each glass, a peach, then cover with cold syrup.
- Serve very cold, with a spoon.
How it was made : Wheat (mote) cooked with ash or wood lye is an Andean and colonial heritage; huesillos allowed summer peaches to be preserved through winter. The marriage of the two in a sweet syrup has been sold by moteros (street vendors) since the 19th century.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a tall clear glass to show the layers, with a thick straw and long spoon — a 'street food chic' version of a popular classic.
Michelle Bachelet · Charactorium
