VENEZUELA: Fresh Corn Cakes (Cachapas) with Cheese and Venezuelan Beans and Avocado

I know I sound like a broken record, or whatever they say about repeating oneself these days, with the amount of times I have written meals have been unexpectedly delicious. But this meal was not that. It was unexpectedly disappointing. I was so excited to make it, as the photos look excellent, and our local corn is on point right about now. But the end results was borderline not-good, to the point my husband was like, "You need to redo Venezuela, because they deserve better than this." To be fair, it was likely user error. The griddle I selected was perhaps nonstick enough, I did not use enough fat (based not on recipes I saw, but on the images of other's cakes with lacy browning), and our local corn is quite sweet right now. I am glad I did not include the sugar I was mentioned in some recipes, as these were too sugary tasting for our liking as is.

Because I am on a timeline, I am not repeating Venezuela. Apologies to the country. If you have a good skillet, are ample with the butter, and like sweet carbs, this could be as excellent as most sites advertise.

Fresh Corn Cakes (Cachapas) with Cheese

3 ears of corn

¼ cup light cream

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon salt

¼-½ cup arepa flour/masarepa

2 tablespoons butter

¼ lb queso de mano, Oaxacan, cheese or moisture mozzarella

Avocado for serving, optional

1. Husk corn and stand on one end. Use a sharp knife to cut down the cob, to remove he kernels. Put the kernels, cream, salt, and ¼ cup of the arepa flour in a blender. Process until you have a smooth paste. The mixture should resemble a loose paste. If too watery, add the remaining flour and process again.

2. Let stand for about 5 minutes for the mixture for the flour to absorb the liquid.

3. Preheat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium-hight heat.

4. When the pan is hot, add butter to grease it.

5. Spoon about ¼ cup of the batter onto the skillet, spreading it with the back of a spoon to make cake the size of a large pancake. This should get you 8 pancakes.

6. Cook the pancake for around 5 minutes until the edges are drying and the underside is golden brown. Flip and place ¼ of the cheese on top of half the cakes.

7. Cook for another 5 minutes, and either top the pancakes with the cheese with the plain pancakes or fold those with cheese in half and serve the others with the toppings of your choice and/or fresh avocado.

Venezuelan Beans

1 cans (~15 oz) black beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ yellow or white onion

½ green or red bell pepper

1 clove garlic

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon brown sugar

½ lemon

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Chop the onion and bell pepper and add to the pan. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until the veggies soft and translucent.

2. Mince the garlic and the garlic and cumin to the pot. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, being careful not to burn the garlic.

3. Add the black beans and their juice, salt, and brown sugar to the pan. Squeeze the lemon overtop.

4. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid reduces and the flavors meld together.

5. Mash a few beans against the side of the pot with a spoon if you prefer a thicker, creamier texture.

#kajaik #fishstew #gurasa #flatbread #yogurtdip #feta #mish #southsudan

FUN FACTS:

• European explorers named the region Venezuela (derived from Veneziola, "Little Venice") in 1498 after seeing the indigenous stilt houses built over the water in Lake Maracaibo.

• The Catatumbo Lightning over Lake Maracaibo happens almost every night. The storm produces up to 40 lightning strikes per minute and was historically used by sailors for navigation.

• At an amazing 3212 feet, Angel Falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall in the world. This waterfall is named after Jimmie Angel who accidentally discovered it in 1933 while flying over the area. It’s taller than three Eiffel Towers stacked on top of one another.