Chapalele
A baked Chiloé chapalele based on Gourmet's recipe: smooth cooked potato mixed with wheat flour, baking powder, sea salt and butter, shaped into 16 pieces.
Traditional method
Milcao
Milcao chilote · Milcao de Chiloé
Chiloé potato cakes combine cooked mashed potatoes with drained raw grated potato; this measured version is fried and yields 20.
Chiloé potato bread
Milcao uses both cooked potato and raw grated potato. The cooked portion is mashed; the raw portion is grated and squeezed dry before the two are mixed. A Chilean government bulletin includes milcao among the traditional potato foods of Chiloé and records its use as a bread substitute.
The sources document several cooking methods: frying, boiling, cooking over embers or in an oven. Milcao may also be cooked with the layers of a curanto. The recipe below records one measured fried version; it does not combine the timings or temperatures of those different methods.
Sources for this section
Measured fried batch
For 20 cakes, use 1 kg potatoes for boiling and mashing, 1 kg for grating raw, 2 tablespoons margarine or lard, 2 teaspoons salt and 200 g cooked pork cracklings or cooked longaniza. The amount of frying oil and cake size are not stated.
Boil the peeled, chopped first kilogram with 1 teaspoon salt until soft. Drain and return it to low heat briefly to dry; mash and cool. Finely grate the second kilogram and squeeze it in a clean cloth. Mix the cooled mash, raw grated potato, remaining salt, fat and chosen cooked pork ingredient. Shape 20 cakes and fry in hot oil until golden on both sides and cooked through. Drain and serve warm. The source gives no frying time or oil temperature.
The source's oven variant first browns the cakes in a pan, then bakes them at 180°C for 10 minutes. The separate curanto method cooks milcao with the stacked foods in the traditional earth oven; neither method is used as a timing substitute for the fried batch.
Sources for this section
Choose sound potatoes
Do not use potatoes green below the skin. Remove sprouts and small green areas before cooking; USDA notes that greening can accompany increased solanine in potatoes.
Sources for this section
History
A 2009 Chilean government consumer bulletin describes milcao among Chiloé's traditional potato foods and notes their use as a bread substitute. It documents the dish by 2009 but does not establish its first appearance.
Ingredients
Yield 20 cakes · Scaling: source batch only
PotatoesPeel, chop and boil until soft; drain, dry briefly over low heat, mash and cool.
1 kg
Cooked-potato portion of a 2 kg batch.PotatoesPeel, grate finely and squeeze well in a clean cloth to remove liquid.
1 kg
Raw-potato portion of the same batch.Margarine or lard
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
Source offers either.SaltUse 1 tsp in the boiling water and 1 tsp in the mixture.
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
The source splits this between cooking water and dough.Pork cracklings or cooked longanizaUse cooked cracklings, or cooked longaniza.
200 g
Choose one; the source lists these as alternatives.Neutral frying oilFor shallow frying.
Amount not stated
As needed; source gives no amount.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Green or sprouted potatoes
Potatoes with green parts or sprouts can have elevated glycoalkaloids; the USDA advises removing green parts and sprouts and avoiding potatoes that are green below the skin.
Hazard sourceUse sound potatoes; discard potatoes green below the skin and remove sprouts and small green areas before cooking.
Control sourceUse cooked longaniza if choosing sausage. Fry the cakes through; the source gives no time or oil temperature. No storage duration is supplied.
- Peel and chop 1 kg of the potatoes. Boil them in water with 1 tsp salt until soft. Drain, return them to the pot over low heat briefly to dry, then mash and leave to cool.
- While the cooked potatoes cool, peel and finely grate the remaining 1 kg raw potatoes. Put them in a clean cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
- Mix the cooled mash with the drained grated potato, margarine or lard, the remaining 1 tsp salt and either the cooked pork cracklings or cooked longaniza.
- Shape the mixture into 20 small round cakes.
- Heat oil in a skillet and fry the cakes in batches until golden on both sides and cooked through. Drain on paper towel and serve warm.
Conditions
Yield20 cakes
Places
Chiloé
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceRecipe and Chilean government sources associate milcao with Chiloé; no more precise locality is established.
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Sources
GourmetRecipe · Geographic context · Food use
MilcaoMeasured 20-cake recipe using 1 kg cooked and 1 kg raw potatoes, 2 tbsp margarine or lard, 2 tsp salt, and 200 g cracklings or cooked longaniza.
Boil and mash one portion of potatoes, grate and squeeze the other, mix and shape 20 cakes, fry until golden; an alternative first browns the cakes then bakes at 180°C for 10 minutes.
The page associates milcao with Chiloé and describes curanto-steamed preparation as another method.
Cited in: Chiloé potato bread; Measured fried batch
Típico ChilenoRecipe · Geographic context · Food use
Milcao | Recetas chilenasIdentifies milcao with Isla de Chiloé and gives a separate four-person recipe with equal weights cooked and raw potatoes.
Its recipe distinguishes baking at 180°C from frying and curanto cooking.
Cited in: Measured fried batch
Oficina de Estudios y Políticas Agrarias, Ministerio de Agricultura de ChileHistory · Geographic context · Food use · Method
Boletín de los consumidores: La papaMay 2009 bulletin says milcao is among traditional potato foods of Chiloé and that locals use them as bread substitutes.
Describes boiling and mashing one part of the potato, grating and squeezing an equal amount of raw potato, combining them with lard and sometimes pork cracklings; lists fried, boiled, ember-cooked and oven methods.
Cited in: Chiloé potato bread; Measured fried batch
USDA Food Safety and Inspection ServiceFood safety
Are green potatoes dangerous?USDA advises removing sprouts and green parts; discard potatoes that are green below the skin.
Cited in: Choose sound potatoes