| There's a web page well worth looking at, "Venezuela for Kids" - the url is
http://venezuela.mit.edu/embassy/kids/food.html
I've copied the following items (without permission)
Traditional food
Arepas
Sancocho (Soup)
Cachapas de budares
Pabell�n
Hallacas
Despite its variety, Venezuelan food has a marked Indian influence. Our
national bread is the arepa, prepared with corn flour. At Christmas, all over
Venezuela, a special and typical food is cooked in every house; it is called
hallaca. This is prepared with corn flour filled with pork meat, chicken,
vegetables, and spices, which is wrapped in banana leaves and boiled.
This kind of banana (pl�tano) is used often in our kitchen and is the base for
many national food specialties.
The variety of fruits in Venezuela is very rich, and being a tropical country
the abundance and beauty are such that they are displayed in our markets,
making them look more picturesque and exotic.
Arepas
The arepa is perhaps the most popular food in Venezuela. It is eaten hot as a
kind of bread to accompany a meal, by itself, or stuffed with meat, bologna,
cheese, scrambled eggs. In the old days, arepas were prepared from freshly
husked and ground corn, but today, the pre-cooked white corn flour has
eliminated this lengthy process.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of corn flour
1-2 cups of warm water
Preparation
Put the corn flour in a bowl and add the salted water little by little, mixing
with the flour until all the water has been used and the flour has become a
dough. Let it rest for five minutes. Now, shape the dough into round rolls
about 3 inches in diameter and 1-2 inches thick. In a lightly greased and
hot skillet, slowly cook the arepas until a crust forms on each side. Now bake
them in the oven at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, until the arepas
sound hollow when tapped.
Sancocho (Soup)
Put three litres of water in a pan and heat it up. When it starts to boil, put
in a chicken cut into pieces, 1 pound of meat (with bone) and 2 ribs. Add 2
onions (in pieces), 1 chopped pepper, celery and leek. Let it boil for 1 hour
on low heat. Then add 3 big potatoes (peeled) , yuca, 2 pl�tanos cut in pieces,
3 corns in pieces, salt and pepper to taste. As soon as the vegetables become
soft, turn off the heat.
Cachapas de budare
Ingredients:
4 cups of tender corn kernels (canned corn may be used)
3 teaspoons of salt
3/4 to 1 cup of water (depending on how tender the corn is)
3/4 cup of sugar
Preparation
Mix all the ingredients in a blender. The mix should become thick and heavy.
If not, add more corn or a few tablespoons of Jiffy Corn Muffins Mix. Shape
the mix into small pancakes approximately 1-2 inch thick and about 5 inches
in diameter. Let them cook on medium heat for about one minute on each side,
or until small bubbles form on the top. Pancakes should be served hot, and
may be accompanied with cheese (feta cheese is a good option).
Pabell�n
One of the Venezuelan specilities to look for is the traditional pabell�n,
which consists of shredded beef (much like the cuban ropa vieja), black beans,
white rice and slices of fried plantains.
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