Man food not a hit! (Week 24 - Venezuela)

The Panellon Criollo was a challenge I have taken on before, although not very successfully. This time, however I prepared everything beforehand, had a plan of action and all the correct ingredients and it was worth it. We all loved the dish; but I must admit that I didn’t do the fried plantains as I couldn’t source them easily. There was some left over, and my husband was very quick to volunteer to have it the next day rather than make a ready-meal for my Grandmother. It isn’t often he wants ‘clear-ups’!  I did the perico for brunch with some arepas too and that was a hit as well. The arepas are odd on their own and I am never sure if I use the correct flour, but mixed in with the egg dish and it was really yummy. We scored the egg dish separate to the arepas and then all combined!

 

My husband is normally a pie lover (in actual fact his Fathers Day gift is a pie book!) so I was surprised when he didn’t rate the chicken pie as high as I thought he would. Apparently it was too sweat, with the raisins and olives and celery. He scored it a 7, which he felt was still pretty good; so I get to have the leftovers of this one Yippee! I loved it, as did our son. Despite all the ingredients, it tasted so smooth and not what I had expected.

 

The bread was a big surprise – and my husband nearly ate the lot! I used 500g flour, with 7g yeast – even for a normal white loaf. I then half the dough and for his rolled it with cheese and ham and put ham and raisins in mine. We loved it, and our son enjoyed the left overs the next day with scrambled egg on! I haven't included a recipe as I just made a white bread and then rolled it out to a rectangle, spread some melted butter on that and put the filling and then rolled it up. Sealed the roll and then rolled it around a little. Proved again for an hour and cooked in a pre-heated oven 350F for 35-45 mins. Then let it rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting and eating!

Next week we are returning back to Europe, to Portugal; so expect some for of fish dish.

Cooked with score (out of 100):

Pabellón Criollo(Shredded beef)……………………………96

Polvorosa de Pollo(Chicken Pie)................................80

Perico........................................................................83 (V)

Arepas ………………………………..……………………………….60 (V)

Perico and Arepas ………………………………………………….83

Wanted to cook:

Tequeños (V)

Pabellón Criollo

(recipe courtesy of VenezuelanCooking.com)

Ingredients:

Shredded Beef:

2 lb. flank steak

8 cups of water (or enough to cover the beef)

Salt (to taste)

1 stick green onion

1 peppermint or spearmint leaf

1 or 2 sprigs of parsley

1 or 2 sticks of celery

½  onion

1 red bell pepper

Beef's Sofrito:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 onions

1 1/2 bell peppers

1 garlic clove

3 1/2 "ajíes dulces" (Sweet Habanero or Yellow Lantern Chili Pepper)

2 tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 or 2 sprigs of cilantro

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce 

Black Beans:

5 cups of water

1 cup of black beans (washed and strained)

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of oil

1/2 onion

1 1/2 "ajíes dulces" (Sweet Habanero or Yellow Lantern Chilli)

1/2 garlic head

1/2 tablespoon cumin 

White Rice:

1 cup white rice

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon oil

1 garlic clove (minced)

1/2 medium onion diced in two

1/8 green bell pepper in strips

1/8 red bell pepper in strips 

Fried Plantains:

1 Ripe/yellow plantain

1 Cup vegetable oil – or as needed (for frying)

Paper towels 

Methods:

Shredded Beef:

1. Cut the Flank Steak in 2 or 4 pieces so they fit in your pot. In a large enough pot, place the Steak and cover with enough water. Add the salt, green onion, peppermint, parsley, celery, onion and bell pepper. Cover and cook for about 4 hours at medium heat until the steak softens. 
2. Remove from heat, take the steak out of the pot, place in a baking sheet and let it cool for a little bit (you can use the remaining beef stock for other preparations).
3. Once the beef is cool enough to handle, start shredding or pulling it. Be sure to pick out the fat and hard parts of the beef at this point. 
4. In a large enough pot, add the oil, and sauté the rest of the onion, the bell pepper the garlic and ajíes cut in Juliennes, for about 5 minutes. Add the beef to this sauté mixture and continue to sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the pepper, the cilantro, and the soy sauce. Taste everything to make sure you don't need more salt or soy sauce.
5. Cook at low heat for about 15 minutes. You may also add a bit of the beef stock and cook at medium heat until the liquid is reduced.
    
   Black Beans: 

1. Make sure to pick out "bad" Black Beans and little rocks or other impurities from your cup of Black Beans and wash them as well. In a large enough pot, add the cup of Black Beans and add the water to them. Let them soak for a maximum of 12 hours and a minimum of 5 hours.
2. In a pot, add the bell pepper and cook at a medium heat, covered, for about an hour and a half or until they become soft. Add the salt. 
    
   Sofrito:

1. Fry the onion, the ajíes and the garlic with the oil until they turn brown (about 5 minutes). Add the cumin, stir, and remove from the heat.
2. Add the "sofrito" to the pot where the Black Beans are cooking and reduce the heat. Let this cook for another 10 minutes, or until the liquid has almost completely evaporated (depending if you will be serving them as a side or as a soup). However, it is recommended to leave a bit of the liquid so they taste better.
    
   White Rice
3. Add the salt, oil, garlic, onion, bell peppers and rice into a large enough pot. Stir-fry all the ingredients on high heat, and then as they brown, add the water. Bring to a boil, and then cook until the water has almost completely evaporated.
4. Turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the rice is soft, dry and loose/fluffy. Remove the pot from the heat, and remove all the big pieces of onion and bell peppers. Serve with butter on top and enjoy.
    
   Fried Plantains:
5. Pour the vegetable oil in a large enough pan and turn on the stove to medium heat, so the oil starts heating up while you prepare the plantains.
6. Cut the two ends of the plantain and make an incision with a knife along the side. Remove the skin. Cut the plantain in half.   You can make a straight/down the middle kind of cut, or a slanted cut to have more oval like tajadas, which are more rectangular Tajadas. If you cut them in the slanted way, they look better, but the flavor is the same.
7. Now make about 4 slices out of each side of the plantain by slicing them sideways, to form slices of about 0.25 – 0.75 inches. Don't make them thicker than that. Lay the plantains on the frying pan and begin to fry them until they are golden brown, turning them if necessary, to fry both sides equally.
8. It takes about 2 minutes per side. Remove the tajadas from the pan one by one and lay on top of a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Serve and enjoy!
    
   Putting it all together for the Pabellón Criollo:

1. Make sure you soak the black beans overnight.
2. Prepare the shredded/pulled beef first, as this will take the longest to cook (4 hours). When the beef has been cooking for about 1½ to 2 hours already, begin to cook the black beans (this will take 2 hours).
3. Proceed to remove the beef from the boiling water.  Shred/pull the beef and continue cooking as directed on the recipe (adding the sofrito and stir frying it).
4. Proceed to finish the black beans recipe as well.
5. Set the beef and beans aside, and begin cooking the rice.
6. Make the plantains while the rice is cooking. Finish the rice and the plantains. Serve all together.
    
    

Polvorosa de pollo

source: southamericanfood.about.com

Polvorosa de pollo is Venezuela's unique version of a chicken pie. This savory tart is like a giant empanada and it is often made into individual portions as well. Its distinguishing characteristics include a very crumbly, soft pastry crust, more like the French pate sablee pastry than the flaky pie crust you might expect. (The word polvo means powder or dust, and polvoroso means "dusty"). Venezeulas also adore their traditional shortbread-like cookies called polvorosas which are made with a similar crumbly (though sweeter) dough.

The filling of this tasty pie is stewed chicken and vegetables, seasoned with a variety of flavors (tomato, cumin, wine, chiles) and spiked with raisins and olives. The success of this dish is its wonderful balance of salty and sweet flavors. Polvorosa de pollo is often served for special occasions or weekend family gatherings, as it takes a bit of time to prepare, but it is well worth the effort and the leftovers can be enjoyed all week long.

Prep Time: 2 hours, cook Time: 1 hour

Makes a 10-inch tart, serving 6-8. 

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

3 cups flour

1 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons vegetable shortening or lard, chilled

1 1/2 sticks butter, chilled

2 egg yolks

1/3 - 1/2 cup buttermilk (or water)

For the Filling:

3 chicken breasts, bone in and with skin

3-4 slices bacon

2 carrots

3-4 celery stalks

2 onions

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules

3 cloves garlic

3-4 scallions

1 tomato

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

3 tablespoons brown sugar or panela

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chile powder

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 cup white or red wine

2 tablespoon butter2 tablespoon flour.

1/2 cup chopped green or black olives

1/2 cup raisins

1 egg

Method:

Prepare the pastry dough:

1. Place the flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the cold butter and shortening into small pieces and add to the bowl.
2. Pulse mixture several times briefly until butter and shortening are in pea-size pieces and mixture is crumbly. (You can also cut the butter and shortening into the flour by hand or with a pastry cutter). Add egg yolks to the mixture. Add 1/4 cup buttermilk and pulse mixture briefly.
3. The dough should start to come together. Add more buttermilk, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until you can squeeze a handful of dough together and it sticks into one mass without crumbling apart.
4. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Divide it into 2 portions, one twice as big as the other. Shape the portions into flat disks, wrap with plastic wrap, and let rest in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
    
   Prepare the filling:

1. Place the bacon in the bottom of a large stockpot and cook over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside to cool. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease. Set aside an additional tablespoon of bacon fat for later use.
2. Place the chicken breasts into the same stockpot and brown them over medium heat, turning frequently, until all sides are browned. Remove chicken to a plate (chicken will not be cooked through).
3. Coarsely peel and chop one of the onions and the carrots. Coarsely chop the celery. Add the vegetables to the stockpot and cook over medium heat until soft and fragrant. Add the chicken back to the pot, cover completely with water, and add the bouillon and bay leaf. Cover pot and simmer chicken over low heat until cooked though, about 25 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Strain chicken broth into a bowl and reserve. Discard vegetables. Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove meat from the bones and skin, and shred or cut the meat into bite size pieces. Set aside.
5. Peel and dice the remaining onion. Seed and dice the bell peppers and the tomato. Mince the garlic. Add the reserved tablespoon of bacon fat back to the stock pot along with the diced vegetables and garlic and cook them over medium heat, stirring, until soft and fragrant.
6. Add the brown sugar, cumin, chile powder, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce to the vegetables. Add the wine and cook, stirring, over low heat for several minutes.
7. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and heat til bubbly. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken broth and heat until almost boiling, then add mixture to the vegetables, along with the shredded chicken. Crumble the bacon and add to the pot. Cook over low heat for several minutes, adding more chicken stock if mixture seems too dry. Stir in the raisins and the olives. Taste for seasonings and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and let cool.
    
   Making the Pie

1. Let the pastry dough come almost to room temperature. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Roll out the larger piece of dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper (or parchment paper) into a 15 inch diameter circle. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with the rolled out dough. Roll the second piece of dough into a 10 1/2 inch diameter circle.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill the pastry-lined pan with the chicken filling. Place the second piece of pastry over the top and seal the edges together. Cut a few vent holes in the top of the pastry. Whisk the egg into a small bowl and brush it onto the pastry before baking.
3. Bake the pastry for 45 minutes to an hour, or until golden brown and heated though.
4. Remove pastry from oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes before removing the springform ring. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Tequeños

These are an irresistible and iconic Venezuelan snack. They are cheesy breadsticks, made by frying pieces salty white queso blanco cheese that have been wrapped with flaky dough in a characteristic spiral fashion. Tequeños can be dressed up with additional fillings, such as pieces of sliced ham, vegetables, and there are even dessert tequeños with sweet fillings.

Prep time: 45mins, cook 15 mins

Makes about 24 tequenos.

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons butter, chilled

1 egg

1/2 cup water

12 ounces queso blanco cheese, farmers cheese, or other firm, salty cheese that melts

Vegetable oil for frying

Chunky-style Gausacaca or other dipping sauce

Method:

1. Place the flour in a medium bowl along with the sugar and the salt and whisk together. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch pieces and place them in the bowl with the flour. Add the egg.
2. Use your fingers to mix the egg and butter into the flour until the mixture is sandy and crumbly, and the butter is in very small pieces.
3. Stir 1/4 cup of water into the flour/butter mixture using a fork. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture starts to come together as dough. Knead the dough in the bowl several times, adding more water if it is overly crumbly. The dough should be soft and kneadable but will appear somewhat shaggy and not perfectly blended. Cover with saran wrap and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
4. Cut the cheese into 3-4 inch long sticks, about 1/2 inch square. Depending on the size of the cheese block you start with, you should have about 24 sticks.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out half of the dough into a 12 by 14 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 1 inch wide strips lengthwise, so that you end up with 12 strips, each about 14 inches long and an inch wide.
6. Use a strip of dough to wrap one of the cheese sticks: Start at one end of the cheese stick and cover the end with dough. Continue to wrap dough around stick in a spiral fashion, overlapping the edges, until you reach the other end. Cover other end of cheese stick and seal, cutting off any excess dough. (You can dampen the dough with a bit of water to help seal it). The cheese should be completely covered with dough.
7. Repeat with remaining cheese sticks and remaining half of the dough until you have about 24 dough covered cheese sticks.
8. Cover the bottom of a heavy, high-sided skillet with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the cheese sticks in bathes, turning them with a spatula until all sides are golden brown. Remove sticks to a plate lined with paper towels and let cool. (You can also fry tequeños in a deep fat fryer if preferred). Serve warm with guasacaca or preferred dipping sauce. Tequeños can be kept warm until ready to serve in a low temperature oven (300 degrees), covered in foil.
    

Perico

Perico is a savory Venezuelan breakfast dish of scrambled eggs seasoned with sautéed onions, tomatoes, and peppers. It's often served inside arepas.

Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped fine

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium tomato, chopped fine

1 green pepper, chopped fine (optional)

4-6 eggs

3 tablespoons cream

Salt and pepper to taste 

Method

1. Whisk eggs together with cream. Set aside.
2. Melt butter with oil in a large nonstick skillet.
3. Sautéed chopped onions over medium heat until translucent.
4. Add tomatoes and peppers and cook over medium heat until soft, 8-10 minutes.
5. Pour eggs into skillet and cook gently, stirring them lightly and flipping them as they cook.
6. Cook to desired doneness, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with arepas.
    
    
   
   

Arepa (Maize Pancakes)

(Makes 4)

Arepas are a staple food in both Venezuela and Colombia. They are corn cakes, made from a special precooked corn flour. You can find this flour in Latin food stores, labeled masarepa, or masa al instante. These simple, satisfying corn cakes are delicious with butter or cream cheese for breakfast, or as an accompaniment to any meal. Colombian arepas tend to be thinner than Venezuelan ones. The thicker ones are perfect for splitting and filling with cheese or meat. Arepas can also be grilled or deep-fried.  The only difference is the thicker, Venezuelan-style arepas finish cooking in the oven.

1 cup maize flour

1 cup warm water

2 tbsp butter

Combine flour, water and ½ the butter. Mix well, let mixture stand for 5 minutes. Knead for 3 minutes. Form 4 balls of dough and place each in a bag and flatten with a pan to ¼ inch. Add butter to pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side or place them on a cookie sheet and heat for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot.

 Country

Venezuela boasts the longest stretch of Caribbean coastline of any nation, yet it also has wetlands with piranhas and anacondas, the steamy Amazon as well as the tranquil offshore islands. Venezuela’s economy is based mainly on oil and is often quoted as being a ‘rich nation with poor citizens’.  The tallest waterfall in the world, Angel Falls, is found in Venezuela. 

In 1498, on his third trip to the New World, Christopher Columbus became the first European to set foot on Venezuelan soil. Columbus anchored at the eastern tip of the Península de Paria, just opposite Trinidad. He originally believed that he was on another island, but the voluminous mouth of the Río Orinoco hinted that he had stumbled into something slightly larger. A year later, explorer Alonso de Ojeda, accompanied by the Italian Amerigo Vespucci, sailed up to the Península de la Guajira, at the western end of present-day Venezuela. On entering Lago de Maracaibo, the Spaniards saw the local indigenous people living in palafitos (thatched huts on stilts above the water). They called the land ‘Venezuela’ (literally ‘Little Venice’), perhaps as a sarcastic sailor joke as these rustic reed dwellings didn’t exactly match the opulent palaces of the Italian city they knew. The name of Venezuela appeared for the first time on a map in 1500 and has remained to this day. Laguna de Sinamaica is reputedly the place where the first Spanish sailors saw the palafitos, and you can see similar huts there today

The economy of Venezuela is heavily dependent on the petroleum sector that accounts for half the government revenues. In 2010, the gross domestic product (nominal) of the country was estimated at $285.214 billion, while the per capita was $9,773. It is one of the top ten crude oil producers in the world having large reserves of oil and natural gas.

 CUISINE

 Venezuela Food is an assortment of scrumptious dishes that are authentic to Venezuela. The traditional food of Venezuela consists of premium quality fish and shellfish. Most of the Venezuela native food contains a marine flavor. The national dish of Venezuela is 'pabellon', which is composed of stewed and shredded meat together with rice, black beans and banana and corn is a staple food in Venezuela

Spanish immigrants, when they invaded Venezuela, contributed their techniques and recipes to the native Indian style of cooking. This enhanced to a great extent as these European settlers started to marry into the native race. Another dimension was added to the cuisine of Venezuela with the import of African women in to their country and culture, which has helped to make it so diverse. Venezuela Cuisine at the moment is a concoction of African, native Indian and European cuisines that has developed over the centuries. The recipes of Venezuela are often found to be affected by Caribbean influences in their flavors, methods of cooking and constituents. The Venezuela Cuisine is appetizing. It is composed of ingredients like sweet peppers, garlic, onions and coriander as flavour stimulants.

Venezuela cuisine has an amount of Caribbean influence in its essence. The cooking techniques are typical, which include fruits like the plantain that are served in most of the meals of Venezuela. Austere green fruits are used in Venezuela recipe, such as potatoes and black skinned plantains.

Main course dishes have a touch of uniqueness that gives it a native taste. Prawns with peppers, Pabellon Criollo, Snapper Crillo, Caracas Chicken and Carne Esmechada are some of the delicacies served as main course in Venezuela. These dishes are authentic to the country. Guasacaca, Venezuelan Salsa, black beans and rice, rice with plantains, baked plantains, and stewed black beans are a few of the popular side dishes that might accompany the main course.

Venezuela Dessert Recipes include Corn Pudding, Venezuelan Chocolate Ice Cream, Venezuelan Butter Biscuits, Creamed Rice and Custard Pudding among the most popular dessert recipes in Venezuela Empanadas are fried or baked pastries, which are stuffed with different kinds of fillings.