Humita

Name: Humita
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Argentine
Ingredients: 8 Fresh corn on the cob, husks kept whole; 2 Onions, finely chopped; 1 Red pepper, finely chopped; 200 ml Whole milk; 20 g Fresh basil, chopped; 1 tbsp Sweet paprika; 50 g Butter; 100 g Grated hard cheese; 2 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Sugar

Fresh corn grated off the cob, cooked down with onion, milk and basil, then tied back into the husks and steamed — pre-Hispanic, and made from nothing that did not come off the same plant.

Source

Recipe by Argentine home kitchens · 🏺 Traditional · Italian and Spanish grandmothers cooking with Argentine beef and Andean corn — a cuisine that arrived by boat and then grew its own roots.

Andean · steamed corn parcel — An ownerless traditional dish, so no cook is credited. The cited article confirms it as a dish dating back to pre-Hispanic times and records the related names it carries across the Andes. It is not Argentina-only and that is stated rather than glossed over. Quantities and the grate-don't-cut instruction are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

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⏱ 90 min🍽 6 servings🔥 320 kcal🇦🇷 Argentina🌶️

HalalVegetarianGluten-freeNut-free

Steps

Peel the husks off whole and keep the widest ones. Pull off the silk and rinse the husks.
Grate the corn off the cobs on the coarse side of a box grater, catching every drop of the milky liquid.
💡 Grate, do not cut the kernels off. The starchy liquid that comes out is what binds the whole thing — cut kernels give you a loose, watery mix.
Soften the onion and pepper in the butter for 10 minutes, then add the paprika off the heat.
Add the grated corn, milk, salt and sugar and cook over low heat, stirring, for 15 minutes until it thickens to a soft paste.
Take it off the heat and stir in the basil and cheese. Cool 15 minutes.
Lay two husks crosswise, spoon filling into the middle, fold the sides in and tie the parcel with a strip of husk. Steam 40 minutes.

💡 Tips

Humita is Andean and pre-Hispanic, eaten from northern Argentina up through Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador under closely related names.
The sweet version — more sugar, no onion or cheese — is served as a dessert and made in exactly the same parcels.
Humita en olla is the same filling served straight from the pot without wrapping, and every household makes it that way on a weeknight.