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| These surprised me quite a bit. I just wish I put more fillings in it. |
The first thing I made was a dish that’s served around Christmastime, so I thought it the right season for this: Pan de Jamón. In a large bowl, I put a ½ c of warm water in a bowl and sprinkled the yeast over it and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Then I added a cup of flour and an egg. I mixed all of that together. Then I added a stick of softened butter (that I cut into Tbsps) and another cup of flour and mixed again. After that, I added in another 1 ½ c of flour, ½ c of milk, 3 Tbsp of sugar, and ½ tsp salt and mixed everything until it was smooth. (You may need to adjust with more flour or water, depending on if it’s too dry or too sticky.) I placed my dough in an oiled bowl and covered it with plastic wrap for about a half hour to let it rise. After it had risen, I divided the dough into two pieces and rolled one out into a rectangle, about 10”x12” (and I realized after I rolled it that I forgot to brush it with melted butter first). I placed thin-sliced ham over the dough, leaving about an inch around the edges. I sprinkled raisins and some of the sliced green olives over the ham. Starting with the long edge, I rolled up the bread as tightly as I could get it, and using some of the juice from the jar of olives on the dough, sealed up the edge of the seam. I made sure to lay them seam-side down on a baking sheet that I covered with parchment paper. Then I tried to tuck in the ends when I was done. I did the same thing with the other piece of dough. I mixed an egg yolk with a tsp of sugar and brushed the top of the rolls with it before covering it with oiled plastic wrap and letting it rest for another hour. I baked this at 350ºF for about 35 minutes until it was golden brown on top. This was really good. To be honest, I was quite skeptical about the green olives and raising in it, but amazingly, it turned out really good. It wasn’t overpowering at all.
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| A good soup for cold nights. |
The next thing I made was Venezuelan Hen Chupe Soup. To begin with, I browned some diced chicken breasts (we couldn’t find cornish game hens) and set it off to the side when it was done. In a large pot, I added about 8 c of chicken stock, some onions, and some minced garlic. After I brought that to a boil, I added in some diced potato and some corn on the cob that I had cut into small pieces (my knives must really suck because that was way harder than I imagined it would be). I let it cook down covered for about 15 minutes until the potatoes were soft. Then I added in a can of creamed corn and a can of sweet corn and cooked covered for another 10 minutes. Now is the time I finally added my cooked chicken pieces into the soup along with some cilantro and let it cook for another 5 minutes, adding in a little salt, too. I lowered my heat a bit and added in a bit of table cream (I just used some heavy whipping cream). As I added it in, I made sure I kept stirring continuously until it was all mixed in well. Then I turned off the heat and let it rest for about 5 minutes. To serve this, I added some queso fresco crumbles and cilantro on top. I really enjoyed this. It was kind of like a chicken corn chowder but with more broth to it. My husband was a little skeptical about it, and the kids weren’t really sure how to eat the corn on the cob pieces. But I really liked this.
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| I really liked this, although I struggled not to add in some cumin. |
One recipe I couldn’t resist making was Guasacaca, only because I knew this Venezuelan version of guacamole would go over well with the family. I took one avocado and mashed it, while I chopped the other two. I mixed the chopped avocados with the mashed one in a bowl. Then I stirred in a bit of vinegar and olive oil. To that, I added in a bit of finely chopped green and red bell pepper, tomato, onion, and minced garlic. I seasoned it with a bit of salt, pepper, and hot sauce. It’s different from how I normally make it (I use cumin in mine), but it was still really good. I liked the vinegar in it. We ate it with some tortillas, but I also spread it on my sandwich, too.
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| I like this. I mean, I really, really like this. Really. Like. This. |
Because I ran out of time but thought these were too important to pass up, I made Venezuelan Arepas the next day for brunch since I took the day off. In a medium-sized bowl, I added in 2 c of water and 1 tsp of salt. After the salt had dissolved, I slowly added in 1 ½ c of maize meal. I think it technically calls for white maize meal, but I was also trying to guide my husband through the grocery store by phone to find this, so I was basically just getting whatever they had. I mixed the meal really well to prevent any kind of clumps and then let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken up. It was still too liquidy to hold together, so I added in another ½ c of maize to it, and then it was pretty close. After this rest time, I stirred in a tsp of vegetable oil to the mixture. I divided the dough into four balls and then flattened them until they were about a ½” thick. In a hot skillet, I put just a little oil in the bottom and pan-fried these for 5-7 minutes on either side until they were browned. When these are done, you’re supposed to split them open and fill them. But I got lazy and didn’t feel like fussing with it, so I ate them like a pupusa. You can really fill these with whatever you like, but I cooked some scrambled eggs with a bit of salsa and chopped green onions and topped them with that. It was actually really good as a brunch meal, and I think the kids liked it this way too.
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| Overall, this was a fantastic meal. A+. |
I thought this meal was really good. Definitely the kind of comfort food I can get with during this time of year. I admit, it’s a little awkward to write about how great Venezuelan food is knowing that I’ve watched a couple of documentaries and news stories over the last couple years about the conditions in Venezuela, namely a 2018 segment on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The incredible inflation has caused food shortages, and many people just aren’t getting enough to eat, while the leadership is eating well. It’s a story of utter mismanagement and corruption in its leadership. But despite this, the people are resilient (I mean, what choice do they have really?). But I’m glad that I’ve learned so much more to this country than what’s just in the news. I keep telling myself that the government is different from its people. I see it in a different light, and I only hope for the best for the people there.
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