Mote con huesillo is the drink of the Chilean summer and of the September independence celebrations, sold from carts in parks, outside stadiums and along the road to the beach. Huesillos are whole sun dried peaches, stone and all, which are soaked and then simmered with sugar or chancaca and cinnamon until plump. The cooking liquid becomes a sweet, amber nectar. Mote is peeled, cooked wheat, and a spoonful of it sits at the bottom of the glass with a couple of peaches on top and the cold nectar poured over.

It is drink and dessert at once, served in a tall glass with a spoon. The vendors on the Cerro San Cristóbal in Santiago are particularly famous for it. It needs an overnight soak but very little effort, and it is the ideal cooler for a hot race afternoon.

The huesillos and nectar

Ingredients

• 12 huesillos (whole dried peaches)
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) cold water
• 3/4 cup (150 g) chancaca or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) white sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 strip of orange peel

Method

1. Rinse the huesillos, put them in the large bowl and cover with the 10 cups water. Leave overnight at room temperature or in the fridge.
2. Tip the peaches and their soaking water into the large saucepan. Add the chancaca, white sugar, cinnamon and orange peel. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes (15 minutes for dried halves).
3. Taste the nectar: it should be sweet but not syrupy; add water if too sweet. Remove the cinnamon and peel. Cool, then pour the peaches and nectar into the jug and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

The mote

Ingredients

• 1 cup (180 g) wheat berries (mote)
• 4 cups (960 ml) water

Method

1. Rinse the wheat in the sieve. Put it in the medium saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, then simmer, partly covered, for 50 to 60 minutes (about 35 for pearl barley). Drain, rinse under cold water and chill.

To serve

Ingredients

• 1 cup ice cubes

Method

1. Put 3 to 4 heaped tablespoons of mote in each tall glass, add two huesillos and fill with cold nectar. Add a couple of ice cubes if the day is hot.

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