A TASTE OF VENEZUELA

 

Empanadas fresh from the frying pan.

The Spanish being spoken at a recent gathering at my house did not have the typical Andalusian accent, but a decided Venezuelan twang. Juana and Jorge, my fellow in-laws—their daughter is married to my son—who are from Venezuela, spent a couple months with me, a home base while they travelled around, getting to know Spain. They hosted an empanada party for mutual friends. My kitchen was Juana’s staging area for empanada making.

Empanadas are a favorite food in Venezuela as they are in Spain. They are made at home and served for breakfast or bought from street stalls for afternoon snacking. The biggest difference between Venezuelan and Spanish empanadas is that the Venezuelan ones are made with a cornmeal dough, while Spanish empanadas are made of wheat flour.

Juana mixes empanada dough.

Here’s what you need for Venezuelan empanadas:

• Pre-cooked white corn meal, harina de maíz blanco precocida, also known as masa arepa. This flour is gluten-free. The best-known brand is P.A.N., available world-wide—check the Hispanic section of your grocery store, in Spain as well as U.S.  (Pre-cooked corn meal is not the same as Mexican masa harina, nixtamalized cornmeal that is used to make corn tortillas.) 

• Filling for the empanadas, such as carne mechada (shredded beef, directions follow), grated cheese, cooked chicken, pork, fish, beans, etc.

• Vegetable oil for frying the empanadas. Corn oil is preferred (we could not find it locally), but sunflower (girasol) can be used.

• Accompaniments: guasacaca, a tangy avocado salsa (recipe below) for dipping and hot sauce (Venezuelan hot sauce is an interesting blend of chiles, herbs and suero, buttermilk). 

Venezuelan-Style Corn Meal Empanadas

Empanadas Venezolanas

For the empanada dough:

Makes 10 (6-inch) empanadas

1 cup water

¼ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup pre-cooked corn meal

For shaping, filling and frying the empanadas:

For patting out the dough, you will need heavy-duty plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag cut open to make a flat piece about 12-inches square. 

Oil for shaping the empanadas

2 cups carne mechada (shredded beef)

Grated cheese (optional)

Oil for frying

Guasacaca (avocado sauce) to serve the empanadas

Place the water in a mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar and salt until they are dissolved. Stir in the corn meal and beat it until the mixture is smooth and without lumps. Knead the dough in the bowl for 3 minutes. It will be very soft. Let the dough rest 5 minutes or up to 1 hour, covered with a damp cloth. 

Pat soft dough into circle.

When ready to shape the empanadas, wet hands with water and divide the dough into 8 pieces, each about 3.2 ounces. Spread a square of plastic on the work surface. Have ready about 2 cups of carne mechada, cheese or other chosen filling. 

Place 2-3 tablespoons of oil in a shallow bowl. Oil hands lightly. Take up a piece of dough. Dip one edge of the dough into the oil, Squeeze the dough to eliminate any air bubbles and roll it smoothly into a ball. Place the ball on the work surface. With the flat of the hand, pat it into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. 

Fold dough over filling.

Use a fork to mound carne mechada on one half of the dough. Using the plastic, lift the bottom edge of the circle and fold it all the way over to meet the top edge.

Pinch off excess dough.

Still using the plastic, with the fingertips press the edges of the dough together to seal them. Extra dough will be extruded around the edges. Gather it up and return it to the bowl. 

With the help of the plastic, lift the empanada off the work surface and, with an oiled finger, smooth the edges to enclose the filling. Place the empanada on another square of plastic until ready to fry. When all the pieces of dough have been used, gather the scraps and use them to make 2 or 3 additional empanadas. 

Fry empanadas in vegetable oil.

Continue patting out rounds of dough and filling them. When using a different filling, such as cheese, mark those empanadas with a thumbprint to distinguish them from the meat-filled ones. Cover the empanadas with a damp cloth.

Place oil in a skillet to a depth of 2 ½ inches (enough to just cover the empanadas). Heat it to 360ºF. Drop a small ball of the dough into the oil. The oil is hot enough when the ball bobs to the surface. Fry the empanadas a few at a time, turning them once, until they are golden-brown. Remove and drain on paper towelling. Any dough still remaining can be rolled into small balls and fried until golden. 

Serve the empanadas hot or room temperature with paper towels or grease-proof paper for wrapping them. Let guests wrap their empanadas. Serve with guasacaca for dipping.  Leftover empanadas can be stored, refrigerated, and reheated in a hot oven or in an air fryer.

Spiced Shredded Beef Filling

Carne Mechada 

Shredded beef is mixed with spicy sofrito, ready for filling empanadas. 

Carne mechada, spiced shredded beef, is used as filling for fried empanadas and for arepas, which are made of a similar dough and cooked on a griddle instead of fried. The shredded beef also centers the Venezuelan national dish, pabellón, with black beans and fried plantains.  

The beef is cooked first then combined with sofrito. You can spice up the sofrito as much as you like. The sofrito can also be used with cooked beans for a vegetarian filling for empanadas.

To make the beef filling, you need cooked and shredded beef. In Venezuela, this is usually flank steak that is simmered with onions and other aromatics until fork-tender. The cooking liquid, a well-flavored stock, gets incorporated in the sauced meat. You can use any cooked beef that is tender enough to shred or pull apart with forks. Leftover brisket or pot roasted chuck is fine. 

Pull cooked beef into shreds.

8 ounces fork-tender cooked beef flank 

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped onions

1 ½ cups coarsely chopped red bell pepper

1 cup coarsely chopped green peppers

1 red chile (optional), stem and seeds removed

3 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil 

1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

1 pound tomatoes (2 ¾ cups coarsely chopped)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon oregano

1 cup beef or chicken stock

Use fingers or forks to separate the meat fibers. You should have about 2 cups of shredded beef.

Make the sofrito rojo. Place onions, red and green peppers, chile if using, and garlic in a food processor bowl. Process until they are finely chopped. Scrape into a bowl. Add the cut-up tomatoes to the processor and chop them.

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion-pepper mixture 5 minutes. Stir in the pimentón and fry 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, cumin and oregano. Simmer the sofrito, stirring frequently, until tomatoes are reduced, 15 minutes. 

You will have about 2 cups of sofrito of which 1 cup is needed for the shredded beef. (Store remainder in refrigerator or freezer for another use.) 

Add 2 cups of shredded beef to 1 cup of sofrito. Stir to mix well. Stir in enough stock to make a loose mixture (½ to 1 cup of the stock). Cook on medium until liquid is reduced and meat sauce is thick. The shredded beef is now ready for filling empanadas.

Tangy Avocado Salsa

Guasacaca

Guasacaca is a tangy avocado salsa for dipping empanadas. 

This might replace guacamole in your repertoire. Vinegar gives it tang without masking the avocado flavor. It’s juicier than guacamole. Serve the salsa with grilled steak or chicken, with arepas, empanadas and tostones (fried plantains). Or as a party dip with corn chips for dipping. The salsa can be prepared in advance and refrigerated. 

Use 2 large avocados or 3 smaller ones. They should be ripe but firm. Grind one avocado with the other ingredients. Chop and add the second avocado after the mixture has been finely chopped in blender or food processor. 

2-3 avocados

1 small onion, chopped

1 firm tomato, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeño chile, chopped

¼ cup white vinegar

½ cup olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped cilantro

Cut one of the avocados into pieces and place in a deep bowl (or food processor) with the onion, tomato, two kinds of bell pepper, jalapeño and vinegar. Use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients until fairly smooth. Chop the remaining avocado and add to the mixture. Stir in the oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the cilantro. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro.

The Spanish way with (savory) empanadas

Galician Empanada with Pork Loin.

Salamanca Empanada with Sausage (Hornazo).

Tuna-Olive Turnovers.

Empanadillas with Spinach.

Sephardic Turnovers (Burekas.)

Empanada of Tuna with Tomato.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 I need a new calendar! The year—and the decade—are running out. As with other chroniclers, I can't resist making lists. How about: the 12 best dishes of Spanish cooking, one for every month?  

I’ve actually done that already. Back in 1997 (in collaboration with food photographer John James Wood), I created a Calendar of Spanish Cooking, with a recipe and photo for every calendar page of the year. We didn’t get it into the holiday gift market early enough, so the calendar didn’t sell so well. But it was a grand excuse to sift through my recipes and cookbooks in order to narrow the vastness of Spanish cuisine down to 12 recipes. (I know, that’s exactly what's odious about lists.)

See what you think about my list. Are these the best—as well as best-known—dishes of Spain? What 12 dishes would you include? I´ve provided links to all the recipes in previous blogs. Incidentally, the blog, MY KITCHEN IN SPAIN, also completes a decade!

JANUARY

J

Fabada Asturiana, Asturian Casserole of Beans and Sausages. Bubbling hot in a cazuela, this stew is just what’s wanted in the coldest month of the year. Recipe: Fabada Beans.

FEBRUARY

Almonds bloom in January and February.

Pollo en Pepitoria, Chicken in Almond Sauce. The original calendar photograph was styled with a branch of pink almond blossoms, which bloom this month. Recipe: Pepitoria Chicken in Almond-Saffron Sauce.

MARCH

Crema Catalana; Catalan Custard with Burnt Sugar Topping. This dessert is typically served for the feast of San José--Spanish Fathers' Day,, which falls in mid-March. Recipe: Catalan Custards.

APRIL

Pimientos de Piquillo Rellenos con Pescado; Piquillo Peppers Stuffed with Fish. Made with bacalao, codfish, or shrimp, this is a classic of Basque cooking. Recipe: Stuffed Piquillo Peppers. This was one of my very first blogs--10 years ago! I'm thinking I need to re-shoot a lot of the photos from the first several years, when I was still learning. 

MAY

Empanada Gallega; Galician Pork Pie. My calendar version was inspired by a spring picnic in the wildflowers. But this favorite is great any time of the year. New Year's Day brunch, maybe? See the recipe below.

JUNE

Paella con Mariscos; Paella with Seafood. Not the classic Valencia paella, but a fun--and tasty--beachside version with both chicken and shellfish. Recipe: Paella with Chicken and Seafood.

JULY

Torta de Santiago; Santiago Almond Torte. A scrumptious dessert, good any time of the year, but chosen because Santiago saint’s day festival falls on July 25. Recipe: Almond Torte.

AUGUST

Gazpacho Andaluz; Andalusian Gazpacho. What else for the heat of summer when tomatoes are at their best?  Recipe: Andalusian Gazpacho.

SEPTEMBER

Tortilla Española; Spanish Potato Omelette. The classic--for tapas, for lunch or anytime. With onion or without. I no longer call it an omelette. Tortilla means a round, flat "cake". Recipe: Potato Tortilla.

OCTOBER

Merluza a la Vasca; Basque-Style Hake. This is right up there with my most favorite dishes of Spanish cooking. So simple. But, it depends on really fresh fish. Recipe: Basque-Style Hake.

NOVEMBER

El Cocido Español; Spanish Boiled Dinner. Every region of Spain has a version of cocido. This one, replete with meat, sausages, chicken, chickpeas and vegetables, is typical of Madrid. Recipe: Cocido Meal-in-a-Pot.

DECEMBER

Roscos de Navidad; Anise-Scented Holiday Rings. Fried or baked, these are special for the Twelve Days of Christmas, especially in Andalusia. Recipe: Holiday Ring Cookies.

Galician Empanada with Pork Loin
Empanada de Lomo

 Galician empanadas can be made with many different fillings—meat, fish, shellfish, poultry. One of the most popular is made with sliced or diced pork loin. The pork marinates in an adobo for a few hours, before being browned in oil. 

I’ve chosen to substitute leftover roast turkey for some of the pork in the following recipe. Since the turkey doesn’t need the frying step, I added 2 tablespoons of oil to the diced turkey with crushed garlic, oregano and pimentón to marinate.

Use either smoked or regular pimentón (paprika). Unless you prefer to roast and peel red peppers, use canned ones. You can also use canned tomato sauce (tomate frito), more or less the same sauce you might spread on pizza.

It is the fat—olive oil plus pork fat—that keeps the filling juicy. Don’t add extra liquid, as it only makes the crust soggy. 

For the filling

1 pound boneless pork loin, cut in ¾-inch dice
Salt
Freshly round black pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon pimentón (paprika)
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 link (4 ounces) soft cooking chorizo, sliced
2 cups chopped onions
¼ cup white wine
¾ cup canned red pimiento, cut in strips
Red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons (canned) tomato sauce (not concentrate)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Empanada dough (recipe follows)
1 egg, beaten

Place the diced pork in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the oregano, crushed garlic and 1 teaspoon of the pimentón. Cover and marinate the meat, refrigerated, for 2-10 hours.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet. Add the sliced chorizo and fry briefly. Skim it out and reserve. Add the pork to the skillet and brown it quickly. It does not need to cook thoroughly, as it will continue cooking in the oven. Remove and set aside.

Add remaining oil to the skillet. Add the onions and sauté them slowly, 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until liquid is cooked off. Add the remaining pimentón, the pimiento, red pepper flakes, if using, and tomato sauce. Cook, stirring, until onions are very soft, 10 minutes longer.

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a rimmed baking sheet with baking parchment.

Divide the empanada dough in half. On a lightly floured board, roll one half out into a rectangle, (approximately 10X14 inches). Trim excess dough and save the scraps. Spread the dough onto the baking sheet, stretching the dough slightly.

Spread meat and sofrito on dough.

Spread the fried pork in a single layer on the dough. Add the fried chorizo. Spread the sofrito of onions and red peppers over the meat. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Roll out the remaining dough to roughly the same size and place on top of the filling. Roll and pinch the edges to enclose the filling and seal the empanada. 

Roll out scraps of dough into long cords and use them to decorate the top of the empanada. Cut a steam vent in the center of the pie. Brush the top with beaten egg.

Place the empanada on the bottom oven rack and bake 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350ºF. Place the empanada on the top rack and bake until browned, about 25 minutes more.

Serve the empanada hot, room temperature or cold. 

Serve empanada hot or cold. It's great for packing on a picnic.

Olive oil and fat from the chorizo keep the filling juicy.

 Dough for Empanadas
Masa para Empanadas

This yeast dough with olive oil is easy to manage. Any extra bits of dough can be rolled out thinly and cut into “crackers.” They’re crisp and delicious. 

The dough can be made in advance and, after the initial rising, frozen until ready to complete the empanada. Thaw the dough completely before proceeding with the recipe.

1 pound flour, preferably bread flour (approx. 4 cups) plus additional for rolling out
1.5 ounces fresh pressed yeast
¾ cup warm water
5 fluid ounces olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt

Place the flour in a mixing bowl.

Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl. Allow to stand 5 minutes, then mix the yeast with the water.

Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the yeast water. Use a wooden spoon to stir the flour into the water. Add the oil and salt. Continue stirring to mix the oil and flour.

Lightly flour a wooden board. Turn the dough out and knead it until smooth and stretchy, 10 minutes. (Or use a bread machine.) 

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.

Calendar with recipes and photos by John J. Wood, from 1997. Are these the 12 best of Spanish cooking?

Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo.