Stone Stew with the Puñihuil People

Yesterday, I enjoyed a big bowl of Curanto, a traditional dish savored on the Island of Chiloé. 20 of us squeezed into the bucolic little farm house of an aging couple who have lived in the Lake Region all their lives. What makes this soup of shellfish, potatoes, veggies and chapaleles so unusual is that it's prepared in a hole in the ground. The hole is lined with stones, the ingredients are added and all is covered with seaweed, large elephant leaves and a blanket. We scarfed down plate after plate of it.