Photo of the Day: Mapuche Piñones Dish

Required Eating

Posted by Robyn Lee, April 23, 2008 at 7:00 PM

From April 13 to 19, I traveled around Chile with two other American food journalists on a culinary media trip. Here's another snapshot from that week. —Robyn Lee

One of my new favorite ingredients that I had never come across before visiting Chile is the piñone, or pine nut. But it's not the same kind of pine nut you find in North America; these pine nuts come from the native Chilean Araucaria araucana, or monkey puzzle tree. As you can see in the photo above, taken at a small Mapuche restaurant run by Anita Epulef in the southern town of Curarrehue, these pine nuts are huge, resembling large, pointy elongated beans more than the little Tic-Tac-sized seed I'm used to. The taste is completely different too; when cooked, the dense, starchy piñone has a firm, somewhat waxy texture and has a mild flavor. You don't have to eat many of these to feel full.

4 Comments | Tags: Chile, pine nuts, Snapshots From Chile

4 Comments:

oh my gosh. I love those things. I had them in Southern Brazil, where they roast them with the shells on, and then you crack them open when warm. They are popular in, I believe Sao Jose des Campos, where venders will pick the fallen ones below the trees, and then roast them to sell.

allistew at 9:16PM on 04/23/08

@allistew: Ooh, I hadn't seen them roasted in their shells! That sounds really good. If I ever go to Brazil I'll have to get some of that...

roboppy at 12:40AM on 04/24/08

I came across them a couple of years ago and I'm hooked. They work extremely well in pesto or a variety of sauces that call for nuts. Tasty in salads too. Were those in the photo boiled then pan roasted? Can't wait until they hit the shelves in a couple of months to try something new. Definitely agree that they are hunger killers though.

Someone passed this on to me a while back. In Portuguese, but simple enough for Google translate.

http://www.pr.gov.br/turismo/receitas.shtml?turistas

Asado at 2:55PM on 04/24/08

@Asado: I think they may have been boiled, but I honestly don't remember. :\ Maybe they were boiled and then...further cooked.

Mm, I'd love to try pesto made from pinones!

roboppy at 5:28PM on 04/24/08

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