Tag: Venezuelan
Papitas de Leche
Papitas de Leche
Papitas de leche translates to “little milk potatoes”; but they contain no potato of any sort. These milk truffles are popular throughout Venezuela; eaten during special occasions. They only contain 4 ingredients: powdered milk, powdered sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and whole cloves. The dairy and the sugar form a dough, get rolled into small balls, then studded with a clove. The papitas are reminiscent of nougat, guaranteed to make these a hit at every party.
Equipment
- standing mixer
- cookie dropper
Ingredients
- 2 cups powdered milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar plus more for dusting
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- whole cloves
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Using the dough hook attachment on a standing mixer, mix in the sweetened condensed milk on medium speed until a dough forms.
- Using a cookie dropper, scoop small balls of the dough. Roll into balls.
- Lightly dust the truffles in powdered sugar.
- Roll the truffles again into balls to help remove excess powdered sugar.
- Place a whole clove into the center of each truffle.
Avocado Chicken Salad
Avocado Chicken Salad
Avocado chicken salad is a popular filling for arepas in Venezuela. You can use leftover roast chicken to make the salad or poach your own chicken breasts. Everything gets mixed together in a bowl and is ready that quick.
Ingredients
Poached Chicken
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/2 small onion
- 5 peppercorns
- 3 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch salt
Avocado Chicken Salad
- 2 avocados ripened
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped
- 3 tbsp white onion finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 jalapeños seeded; finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Add the onion, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, and salt to a pot of water. Bring to a boil.
- Add in the chicken breast. Simmer for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Cool and chop.
- Mash the avocado with the lime juice in a large bowl.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Chill until ready for use.
Pasticho Venezolano
Pasticho Venezolano
With Italy being a huge influence on their cuisine, pasticho is the Venezuelan version of lasagne. The use of soy sauce and worchestershire sauce is commonly used in Venezuelan cooking, giving the red sauce in the pasticho a unique flavor. This pasticho requires a lot of prep work, patience, and the willingness to do more dishes than you’d want. But this Venezuelan lasagne is unbelievably tasty. Instead of eating the whole pan yourself, portion out any leftovers and freeze down on a baking sheet. Place each portion in a vacuum sealed bag and vacuum seal. Place in the freezer until ready for use.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lasagne noodles prepared according to package directions
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
Red Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 5 roma tomatoes diced
- 1 can tomato paste 6oz
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
White Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prepare lasagne noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
Red Sauce
- Heat up oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add in the ground beef. Brown for 6 minutes. Season with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.
- Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for a minute.
- Add in the tomatoes and sugar. Cook down for 5 minutes. Season with the dried basil and oregano.
- Pour in the red wine. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
White Sauce
- Whisk butter and flour together in a pot over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the milk. Whisk out the lumps.
- Whisk in the parmesan, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cream sauce thickens.
Pasticho Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ladle a large scoop of white sauce to the bottom of a 9”x13” glass baking dish.
- Place a layer of noodles on the bottom.
- Ladle 1/3 of the red sauce over the noodles.
- Place another layer of noodles over the red sauce. Ladle another scoop of white sauce over the noodles. Top with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and a dusting of parmesan.
- Repeat the previous 3 steps 2 more times. Top the pasticho with the remaining white sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
