Guatemalan recipe
How to make Atol de elote
The whole country
A warm, thick and sweet drink of fresh young corn blended with water or milk, strained and cooked with sugar and cinnamon. It is sold from big pots in markets and at street corners, especially on cool highland evenings.
Ingredients
- 4 ears of fresh sweetcorn, or 500 g frozen sweetcorn
- 750 ml milk or water, or half and half
- 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- A pinch of salt
Method
- Cut the kernels from the corn cobs with a sharp knife.
- Blend the kernels with the milk or water until very smooth, then pour through a sieve into a saucepan, pressing to get out all the liquid.
- Add the sugar, cinnamon and salt and heat gently, stirring all the time, as it burns easily.
- Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, still stirring, until it thickens like a thin custard. Remove the cinnamon and serve hot in cups.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Atol is a Maya drink: cacao and atol are the two main contents named on many painted Classic Maya drinking vessels.
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