Vida Recetas Editorial
Mote con huesillos is Chile's most Chilean sweet drink: huesillos (dried peaches) cooked in a caramel syrup with cinnamon, cloves and orange peel, served ice-cold over cooked wheat.
It was born in central Chile, when Spanish wheat was first cooked as mote; today it is the classic of Fiestas Patrias. There is no alcohol in it and it yields enough for a full table: if you are unsure how to cook the grain, our guide to Chilean wheat mote answers exactly that.
Two keys: chill the syrup separately from the wheat, which otherwise soaks up liquid and turns gluey, and remember the caramel adds more colour than sweetness.
To use the peaches in another dessert, try the dried peach dessert; to get the wheat cooking out of the way, check the cooking and soaking times and the pressure cooker guide.
Prep
20 min
Cook
45 min
Servings
8
Calories
270 kcal
Rinse the huesillos under cold running water and leave them soaking in 1 litre of cold water for 12 hours, ideally overnight.
The next day drain the peaches and keep the soaking water: the syrup is cooked in that same water.
Make the caramel: melt the 150 g of sugar in a large pot over medium heat without stirring, swirling the pot until it turns amber, and take it off the heat before it burns.
Pour in the soaking water little by little with a wooden ladle, because the caramel spits, then add the remaining litre of water.
Add the peaches, cinnamon, cloves, orange peel and the chancaca if using it, and cook over low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, until the peaches open up and soften.
Remove the cinnamon, cloves and peel, and let the syrup cool at room temperature for about 2 hours.
Meanwhile, rinse the wheat and cook it in 1.5 litres of boiling water with no salt or sugar: 30 to 40 minutes for dried mote and 10 to 15 minutes for fresh pre-cooked mote.
Drain the wheat and rinse it with cold water until the water runs clear, to stop the cooking and wash off the surface starch.
Refrigerate the wheat, the peaches and the syrup separately and covered for at least 2 hours, until everything is well chilled.
Build each glass with 2 tablespoons of wheat at the bottom, 2 or 3 peaches, and fill with the syrup; serve with ice and a long spoon.
Taste the syrup before serving and, if it needs more sweetness, adjust with sugar dissolved in a little hot syrup.
Store the wheat separately from the syrup in the fridge for up to 3 days and always serve it ice-cold.
This recipe has a easy difficulty level, which means it's accessible for cooks of all levels.
The preparation time is 20 minutes and the cooking time is 45 minutes.
This recipe is designed for 8 servings.
Yes, many ingredients can be substituted with similar alternatives. We recommend checking the recipe variations.
Store the preparation in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Some preparations can be frozen for up to 3 months.
