Chile

San Pedro de Atacama

Chile is a long, narrow country on the West coast of the South American continent. Australia and Chile have a long history of diplomatic relations, since 1945. Today, they have strong bilateral ties, particularly in the areas of mining, resources, education and research. Chile is one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America. Australia and Chile signed a free trade agreement in 2009, and both countries are signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Chileans make up the largest Hispanic community in Australia. There are 26,085 Australian residents who were born in Chile, and 34,233 residents of Chilean descent. Many Chileans came to Australia to escape the dictatorship in Chile from 1973 to 1990. Among them was Michelle Bachelet, who in 2006 became the first female president of Chile.

Capital: Santiago

Population: 18.95 million

GDP: 282.3 billion USD

Santiago de Chile

Did you know?

• The Atacama desert in Chile’s north is the driest in the world

• The small island of Chiloé is home to 286 different kinds of native potatoes

• Chile is widely regarded as the astronomy capital of the world, and has about 40% of the world’s telescopes

Recipe – Empanadas de Pino

Ingredients:

Filling:

1kg beef mince

1 cup beef stock

3 onions, finely diced

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp merkén or paprika 

1/2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

4 tbsp oil

20 black olives

40 raisins

5 hard-boiled eggs

Dough:

1 cup milk

1 cup lukewarm water

1 tbsp salt

1kg flour

4 egg yolks

180g vegetable shortening, melted

Method:

Filling (prepare 1 day in advance):

1. Heat the oil in a large pot, fry the mince until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, add the merkén or paprika, salt, pepper and cumin, and fry for a few more minutes.

2. Add the stock and cook for 30 minutes over low heat. 

3. Add the onions, incorporate well and cook over medium heat until the onion is soft, about 30 more minutes.

4. Add the flour and stir well, adjust the seasoning if necessary. Let cool and refrigerate.

Dough:

1. Mix the milk, water and salt, and stir until the salt dissolves completely.

2. In a large bowl stir the flour with the egg yolks. Add the butter and work a little more. At this point you will only have crumbs, not yet a dough.

3. Keep working the dough while adding the milk mixture until you get a smooth and elastic dough. This will take about 10 minutes of hand kneading.

4. If you need more moisture, keep adding water and unsalted milk.

Making the empanadas:

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.

2. Divide the dough into 20 portions and cover with a damp cloth. 

3. Working each portion individually, flatten to a thin dough, cut into a circle and fill with 2 tablespoons of filling, a quarter of a hard-boiled egg, olives and raisins if desired.

4. Close by brushing the edge with milk and pressing firmly.

5. Brush with egg.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

(Recipe adapted from https://www.enmicocinahoy.cl/empanadas-de-pino-al-horno/)