Humita

Ingredients

The filling

• 12fresh corn cobs with their husks intact (about 1.4 kg kernels)
• 3 tbspsunflower oil or butter
• 2onions, finely diced
• 1red pepper, finely diced
• 3spring onions, sliced
• 1 tspsweet pimentón
• ½ tspground cumin
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 200 mlwhole milk
• 200 gfresh cheese (queso cremoso or a young mild cheese), diced
• 1 tspsugar, if the corn is starchy
• 2 tspsalt
• ½ tspwhite pepper
• 1 pinchchilli flakes

To wrap and cook

• The corn husks, reserved whole
• Strips of husk or kitchen string, for tying
• 4 litreswater, salted, for boiling

Directions

1. Cut the base off each cob and peel the husks away whole, keeping the widest ones for wrapping. Blanch the husks 1 minute in boiling water so they turn pliable and do not split.
2. Grate the kernels off the cobs on the coarse side of a box grater, or cut them off and pulse briefly in a processor. You want a coarse, milky mash, not a puree: the texture is the dish.
3. Scrape the bare cobs with the back of a knife to release the remaining milky liquid and add it to the mash.
4. Sweat the onion, pepper and spring onion in the oil over medium heat for 10 minutes until completely soft and sweet but not browned.
5. Add the pimentón, cumin, oregano and chilli off the heat, stir 30 seconds, then return to low heat and add the corn mash.
6. Cook gently, stirring constantly, for 15–20 minutes, adding the milk in stages. It is ready when it thickens to a heavy, spoonable paste that holds a furrow for a couple of seconds. Undercooked humita tastes raw and floury.
7. Season with salt, pepper and the sugar if needed, take off the heat and cool 15 minutes, then fold in the diced cheese.
8. Lay two husks crossed, spoon 3 heaped tbsp of filling into the middle, fold the sides in and the ends up to make a parcel and tie firmly with a strip of husk.
9. Simmer the parcels in salted water for 35–40 minutes, keeping them submerged with a plate, then drain and rest 10 minutes. Open at the table and eat straight from the husk, with the wrapper as the plate.

Technique

• Humita is a pre-Hispanic Andean dish, shared by northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Peru and Chile, and older than any European ingredient in it. The cheese and milk are the criollo addition.
• Use fresh corn in season, and choose starchy field corn rather than very sweet supermarket varieties: sweetcorn makes a dessert-like humita that Argentines would not recognise.
• The mixture must be cooked down before wrapping. A loose filling leaks into the water and you lose it.
• Humita en chala means in the husk. There is also humita en olla, the same mixture served straight from the pot as a soft spoonable dish.

Substitutions

• No fresh cobs: 1.2 kg frozen sweetcorn, thawed and pulsed coarse, plus 2 tbsp polenta to restore body; wrap in soaked dried corn husks or baking paper.
• Queso cremoso can be replaced with a young mild cheese such as mozzarella or a mild feta rinsed of its brine.
• For a sweet northern version, leave out the pepper and cumin and add 2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.

Variations

• Humita en chala, boiled in the husk, the standard.
• Humita en olla, served in a bowl with extra cheese stirred through.
• Humita salteña, spicier, with more pimentón and a hotter chilli.

Frequently asked questions

What is Humita?

Humita is a snack from Argentina: creamy spiced corn wrapped in husks, northwestern tradition.

How long does Humita take to make?

Humita takes 1 hr of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 12 humitas. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Humita?

Yes, within limits. No fresh cobs: 1.2 kg frozen sweetcorn, thawed and pulsed coarse, plus 2 tbsp polenta to restore body; wrap in soaked dried corn husks or baking paper. Queso cremoso can be replaced with a young mild cheese such as mozzarella or a mild feta rinsed of its brine. For a sweet northern version, leave out the pepper and cumin and add 2 tbsp sugar and a pinch of cinnamon.

What is the most important thing to get right in Humita?

Cut the base off each cob and peel the husks away whole, keeping the widest ones for wrapping. Blanch the husks 1 minute in boiling water so they turn pliable and do not split.