Recipe: Arroz con Pollo | Venezuelan Rice And Chicken

It is custom in our culture that women are the ones in charge of cooking within the family unit. However, there are two specialties that my dad was always in charge of preparing. At least once Sunday every month, he would be in charge of making Parrillas at my grandparents’ house, and a different Sunday he would be in charge of making Arroz con Pollo at our house. He has been perfecting his Arroz con Pollo recipe all these years and still to this day, he makes it at least once a month for himself. Arroz con pollo, previously known as pollo en arroz (chicken in rice), is a main dish in which the rice leaves its usual spot as a side and becomes the main event. The rice absorbs all the flavors and colors of the chicken and other ingredients.

Recently my dad traveled to the US to visit, it was a big surprise for us because we had no idea he was coming. He stayed over for a month, and we begged him to make his famous arroz con pollo for us one day. I had been trying to recreate his arroz con pollo for years so I could include it on this blog, and I had no luck. From being unable to find the perfect rice, to not knowing the amount for each ingredient, to overcooking the rice and ending up with arroz-con-pollo pâté… finally, I was able to learn from the pro, how to make the perfect arroz con pollo. As my dad was cooking, we would remember all those Sundays he used to prepare it at home, and he would explain all the tips and tricks to make it perfect. He even said his arroz con pollo is like a Venezuelan Paella with chicken instead of seafood, for those of us who don’t like seafood (my dad is not a big fan of seafood, unlike my mom who eats almost everything from the sea). He also mentioned I would have to put this disclaimer out there: “this is merely ONE way of making Venezuelan Arroz con Pollo… my way”.

Arroz Con Pollo Ingredients

What you need:
– 2 Chicken Breasts
– 2 Medium Potatoes
– 2 Carrot Sticks
– 1 Bell Pepper
– 1 Large Onion
– 2 Chorizos
– 3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
– 2 Cups of Yellow Rice
– 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil

Arroz Con Pollo Ingredients

– ½ Tablespoon Garlic Powder
– ½ Tablespoon Adobo
– Salt to taste
– Pepper to taste
– 1 Small Can of Sweet Peas
– 1 Small Can of Whole Kernel Corn
– Parmesan Cheese to taste
– Limes (Lime Juice) to taste
– Olive Oil to taste

Preparation:
1. In a large enough pot (like a 3 Qt. Saucepan), bring about 1.5 to 2 Qt. water to a boil, on high temperature.

Boil Water

2. Add the 2 chicken breasts to the boiling water, and lower the temperature to medium.

Add Chicken Breasts

3. Peel, wash, and cut the potatoes. Then add to the pot.

Potatoes

4. Peel, wash, and cut the carrots. Then add to the pot.

Carrots

5. Wash and cut in small cubes ¾ of the bell pepper and add to the pot. Leave the other ¼ of the pepper cut in thin slices, and set aside (we will use it to garnish the plate afterward).

Bell Peppers

6. Chop the onion and add it to the pot.

Onion

7. Add 2 chicken bouillon cubes (or 1 packet) to the pot.

Chicken Bouillon

8. Take the chorizo out of the freezer and slice it. It is better to cut it while it’s still frozen than when it has been thawed, since it will become a mess. Set aside.

Cut the Chorizo

9. Taste the chicken broth from the pot, and if needed, add another chicken bouillon cube (or half a packet). Set the temperature to high again and cook for another 15 minutes.

Chicken Broth

10. After everything has been cooking for about 45 minutes (since you first added the chicken breasts in the pot), take the chicken breasts out of the pot, cut them in small cubes, and then return it to the pot. Bring the temperature back to medium.

Remove Chicken and Cut

11. After 10 minutes. Drain all of the liquid out of the pot, keep all ingredients and also keep the broth in a separate container. We will use the broth later to cook the rice in it, so don’t throw it away.

Drain The Ingredients, Keep The Broth

12. In a large enough saucepan add a little bit of olive oil and turn up the heat to medium. Add all of the drained ingredients from the pot to the pan.

Sauté Ingredients

13. In the large pot you were using before, add a little bit of olive oil, add the 2 cups of Yellow Rice and sauté it a little bit. I have to say, my dad and I bought the Iberia brand of yellow rice and we were fooled. The package is transparent so you can see the rice, and the rice looks yellow because the package is yellow, not the rice. It says yellow rice because it brings that yellow powder in it which turns the rice yellow when you cook it, but the rice is not yellow straight from the package. There are other brands that have the yellow rice already pre-stained yellow, and you should get that one instead. I saw that the Conchita brand has a clear container, and you can see that the rice is already yellow.

2 Cups of Rice

Sauté The Rice

Actual Yellow Rice

14. In the meantime, sauté the other ingredients in the other pan.
15. Once you sauté the rice just a little bit, add 4 cups of the chicken broth to the rice. Cook as directed in the rice package. Usually, turn the heat to high, bring to a boil. Then, lower the temperature and cover.

4 Cups of Rice

16. Add the adobo, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to the other ingredients in the other pan, then stir.

Add Seasoning

17. Add the chorizo to the ingredients in the pan, mix well.

Add Chorizo

Mix And Continue Cooking

18. Meanwhile, drain the cans of peas and corn.
19. Add all the ingredients from the pan to the pot with the rice. Stir thoroughly so that the rice mixes well with everything else.

Combine All Ingredients

20. Add the cans of peas and corn and mix well together.

Add Corn

Add Peas

21. Take the temperature to low and cover, then cook for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is thoroughly cooked.
22. Serve hot with optional toppings: olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and lime juice. Use the rest of the bell pepper to decorate.

Arroz con Pollo | Venezuelan Rice And Chicken

Optional Toppings

Arroz con Pollo | Venezuelan Rice And Chicken

Arroz con Pollo | Venezuelan Rice And Chicken

Note: This recipe usually includes Venezuelan Ají Dulce, but we were unable to find any. Most recipes don’t add the corn, but I thought my dad’s addition of the corn was delicious.

¡Buen Provecho!

¡Gracias Pa!
This is another very special post, and I dedicate it to my dad
Alejandro R. Ojeda

Recipe: Crema de Auyama | Venezuelan Cream of Squash Calabaza (Soup)

By now you must know how much I love soups and creams. I have given you the Apio Soup and the chicken soup recipes so far, but there are plenty more Venezuelan soup and cream recipes to come. Today I want to share with you another very popular Venezuelan creamy soup, the Crema de Auyama. The Auyama, pronounced awˈʝa.ma, is technically a fruit because it contains the seeds of the plant inside. However, most people consider it a vegetable. It most resembles the squash and pumpkin types. In Venezuela it is used in most soup preparations like Sancochos and it is also used on its own to create this cream. However, it is also used to create sweet recipes such as bread and cakes.

The Auyama is easy to cultivate and therefore it is sold in large quantities and at a cheaper price than other vegetables. It is rich in potassium, calcium, vitamin A, and fiber. It is also low in calories because it is mostly made out of water, but it is very tasty. It is believed that because it was easily cultivated, Europeans used it as fodder to feed their animals. Each plant can bear up to 8 fruits and it only takes 140 days to harvest. In Venezuela it is available all year long. However, the Auyama harvested in summer has a sandy-textured pulp and it works best for pasta fillings or cakes. On the other hand, the Auyama harvested in winter is the one that is best for creams and soups, because the pulp is more fibrous and pale, and it has more water content.

Here in the US, the type of pumpkin or squash that I believe to be the closest to the authentic Venezuelan Auyama is sold as Squash Calabaza. I have bought it at Publix and Sedano’s in big chunks (they cut it and sell each individual piece in cling wrap), I have also bought one at Wal-Mart sold as a whole (the whole Calabaza), but I think the ones that come cut in chunks are the ones that most resemble the Auyama taste. The Venezuelan Auyama belongs to the Curcubitaceae family, and the curcubita genre, in the varieties called máxima, moschata, mixta and pepo. Its size is large and it comes in different shapes and sizes, with skin that varies from green to yellow to orange, it can be either smooth or corrugated, and the pulp varies from pale yellow to bright yellow-orange. The taste also varies from very sweet to not so sweet. This is probably why it has been hard for me to find one that truly matches the Venezuelan Auyama taste.

This particular recipe is my sister’s very own recipe, so it is not a traditional recipe, but it is very close to it. My sister, Mariale Ojeda, a.k.a. The Soup Queen as we call her around here, is an expert at making delicious soups for me, the soup lover. This post was created by her, the recipe, the cooking and the photos are all hers. I have to say special thanks to her for all the soups she has been cooking for us lately and for this amazing recipe and post she created as a featured writer of Venezuelan Cooking.

Ingredients for Crema De Auyama

What you need:
– 4 lbs. Auyama (Squash Calabaza)
– 6½ Cups Chicken Broth or Chicken Bouillon (enough to cover all the Auyama)
– 5 to 8 Stems of Cilantro
– 1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
– ½ Chopped Onion
– 1/3 Sliced Bell Pepper
– ½ Stem Sliced Leek

Preparation:
1. Peel the Auyama and remove the seeds. Cut it in big chunks.

Cut The Auyama In Big Chunks

2. Place the chunks of Auyama in a large enough pot. Cover entirely with the chicken broth or chicken bouillon (1 bouillon cube per cup of water).

Cover With Chicken Broth\

3. Boil the Auyama at medium to high heat for about 13 minutes.
4. Add the cilantro and continue to boil for another 7 minutes.

Add Cilantro

5. Stir occasionally and remove accumulated foam from the top.
6. Meanwhile, cut the rest of the vegetables and heat up a pan with a little bit of olive oil.
7. Toss the veggies in the pan and sauté until brown, then set aside.

Sauté Veggies. Set Aside.

8. After about 20 minutes of boiling, test the Auyama by taking out a large piece and try to mash it with a fork, as if making mashed potatoes. If you can do this easily, then it’s done.

Test if the auyama is done

9. Add the sautéed vegetables to the Auyama pot, stir and remove pot from the heat. Let it cool down.

Add veggies to auyama

10. Once it has cooled down, grab all the solid pieces and place them in a blender or food processor.

Blend

11. Blend together and gradually add as much of the liquid remaining on the pot as necessary, to reach the right creamy consistency. What you are looking for is a creamy soup consistency.

Creamy consistency

12. Serve hot with your favorite garnish and topping, like my sister and I do. Some of our favorite toppings include Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, avocado, rice, croutons and cassava bread.

Crema de Auyama | Venezuelan Cream of Squash Calabaza (Soup)

Note: You can make a big batch of this Squash Calabaza creamy soup and store it in the fridge for a couple of days, or you can store it in the freezer for up to a month. Reheat on the stove and not on the microwave for better results.

¡Buen Provecho!

International Recipe Day: Risotto ai Funghi | Risotto con Champiñones

Welcome to a new section in this Venezuelan Cooking blog. I introduce International Recipe Day to you. As I have mentioned before, Venezuela is a big melting pot of a lot of different cultures and influences. Some of our traditional family recipes include recipes that come from our ancestors, who came from other countries to Venezuela a long time ago. One example, which I posted a while back, is the Tortilla Española. In my family, we have a lot of these recipes and one of them is the Risotto with Mushrooms. I used to not care for Risotto, but once I tried my grandma Ana’s Risotto, I changed my mind.

Recently my grandma Ana came to visit from Venezuela, as she usually does every year, and I wanted to cook something with her again like we did with the Tequeños and the Pollo a la Ana. She suggested we tried the Risotto because it was a simple recipe, so I invited her over to our new apartment to cook some Risotto together, and it was delicious.

The Risotto is a traditional Italian recipe. It is believed that the Arabs were the first to introduce rice to Italy and Spain during the Middle Ages. Like most other foods, rice was initially only consumed by wealthy people until it became widely spread and was no longer a delicacy. Much like the evolution of Spain’s Paella, the Risotto evolved from a cooking technique that was becoming very popular around that era; slow cooking.

The best thing about Risotto is that it can be served as the main dish, which is what they do in Italy, but it can also be served as a complementary dish to another dish, like the Ossobuco. Risotto can also be enhanced with many other complementary ingredients such as mushrooms, asparagus, shrimp, lobster, scallops, sausage, pumpkin, etc. It is truly a versatile dish that you can make your own, just like my grandma did.

Ingredients for Risotto Ai Funghi

What you need:
– 3 Cups Arborio Rice
– 2 Boxes White Mushrooms
– 1 Box Shitake Mushrooms
– 1½ Large Onion
– 2 Cups White Wine
– 1 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese
– 1 Stick of Butter
– 1 48oz. Carton of Beef or Chicken Broth
– ¼ Cup Cooking Oil
– 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
– 1 Tablespoon Salt

Preparation:
1. Cut the onion in small cubes. In the meantime, in a big enough pot, begin to heat up the oil at medium heat.

Cut the onion in small cubes

2. Add the onions to the pot and cook at medium heat until golden brown.
3. Wash the mushrooms if necessary, but don’t over soak them, because they will get too mushy.
4. Add the olive oil to the pot.
5. On a separate smaller saucepan, add about half of the chicken broth and maintain it hot but not boiling, at medium heat.

Maintain the chicken broth hot at a medium temperature

6. Add the mushrooms to the pot with the onions, along with the wine. Continue to cook and stir for about 7 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and wine

7. Once the mix begins to dry a bit, add the rice to the big pot with the onions and mushrooms.
8. Begin adding the hot broth bit by bit with a ladle, while you stir it in to the rice, cooking at low heat.
9. Continue adding the broth and cooking at low heat until you have added all the broth or until the rice is cooked throughly. Add the salt.
10. Be sure that you add the broth very slowly over time, so as to not make the rice and mixture too mushy.
11. Once the rice is almost done, add the butter and the Parmesan cheese to the mixture and cook until done.

Add butter and Parmesan cheese

12. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese on top.

International Recipe Day: Risotto ai Funghi | Risotto con Champiñones

¡Gracias Tabue!
This is another very special post, and I dedicate it to my grandmother
Ana C. Sandoval de Ojeda.

Note: I have to apologize for being so hungry and exited to try my grandma’s risotto the day we cooked it, that I didn’t remember to take the final plated photo.  So what you see here is a stock photo. I owe you one.

¡Buen Provecho!

Recipe: Mojo Isleño Venezolano | Venezuelan Mojo Sauce

When I lived in Venezuela, going out to have lunch or dinner at a restaurant wasn’t an everyday thing.  It was more of a luxury.  Middle class families, such as mine, did not eat at a restaurant very often.  But one thing I remember about the few times we ate out is the mojo, or what people think its called Venezuelan Green Sauce.  Mojos are a type of sauce that most restaurants have at the table like they have salt and pepper.  It’s a must.  They are on the table for you to use as you wish.  You can use it as a spread on your bread or hallaquitas, as a sauce for your meat, as a dressing for your potatoes or yuca, even for your soup.  You name it.  Most mojos are prepared with a mixture of herbs, vegetables, oil and vinegar.  Every restaurant has their own recipe and ingredients and some serve both a regular version, and a spicier version.  Personally I like to use mojos as a topping for tostones, hallaquitas, yuca sancochada, yuca frita, parrilla, and empanadas.

Venezuelan Mojo Isleño Ingredients

What you need:

– 1 ½ Medium Onions
– 8 Garlic Cloves
– 1 ½ Cups Cilantro Leaves (no stems)
– ½ Cup Parsley Leaves (no stems)
– 1 or 2 Ajíes Picantes (Chili Peppers or Red Chilies)
– 1/8 Cup Bread Crumbs
– ½ Cup Beef Stock
– ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
– ¼ Cup Vinegar
– ¼ Teaspoon Black Pepper
– 1 Teaspoon Salt
– ½ Tablespoon Paprika

Preparation:
1.  Do not wash the parsley and cilantro at first.  Take the leaves and measure out first, not too tightly, and then proceed to wash them.

Venezuelan Mojo Isleño Ingredients

2.  Using a food processor, blend the onions, garlic (I suggest you mince it first), parsley, cilantro, chili peppers (without the veins or seeds).

Blend Ingredients

Green Paste

3.  After you have blended all the ingredients very well and obtained sort of a green paste, mix in the breadcrumbs with a spoon.

Breadcrumbs

4.  Place the mixture in a pot and add the beef stock, vegetable oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and paprika.
5.  Cook to a boil, and then continue cooking in high heat for about 12 minutes until it turns into a yellow-greenish color and a thick consistency.

Boil

6.  Serve as a topping for your favorite recipes, such as fish, potatoes, meats, arepas, boiled yuca or hallaquitas.

Venezuelan Mojo Isleño

Venezuelan Mojo Isleño

*Note:  My mojo looks very green, because I was unable to find the red chili peppers, so I used a green jalapeño instead.

¡Buen Provecho!

Recipe: Pollo A La Ana | Venezuelan Creamy Chicken

This recipe is one of my favorites. Not only because it is delicious, but because it was one of the very first recipes I learned how to prepare by heart. The name is in honor of my grandmother Ana Cecilia Sandoval de Ojeda. Even though she claims that we have all taken the recipe and changed it and improved up on it in our own way, she is still the main inspirational source for the original recipe, and many other recipes featured in my blog. This isn’t really a traditional Venezuelan recipe that everyone knows about, but it is definitely a big part of my life and memories of my childhood in Venezuela.

I first tried this delicious creamy chicken recipe when I was a kid and I used to visit my grandparents’ home almost every weekend. Sometimes I was dropped off at their house after school, too. And when I was lucky, I would eat my grandma’s creamy chicken for lunch. She would usually serve it with rice, some vegetables and baked plantains on the side. But the plate wasn’t ready until she poured some of the creamy sauce on top of my rice.

When I moved from Venezuela to the US, I sure missed my family and all the Venezuelan food I was so used to eating. I moved in with my aunt and my cousin. Life in the US was very different and we were always in a hurry, working and going to school at the same time. No one really had time to cook. However, we decided we needed to start cooking and eating home-cooked meals. My cousin and I, college students and part time employees, didn’t really know our way around the kitchen. We could make arepas, sandwiches, salads, eggs, and… that was pretty much it. One day we decided we needed to learn how to cook more complicated dishes and we both remembered our favorite creamy chicken, and we decided to give it a shot. We called grandma and our aunt for their recipes, but they gave us the basic steps and no measurements to go by, assuming these grown women should already know their way around the kitchen. After a couple of attempts and tweaks, and even after one time Whooper (my cousin’s dog) stole one of our chicken breasts, we finally nailed and perfected our own version of the creamy chicken. We served it with rice, plantains, and my now famous (don’t really know why) broccoli and cauliflower au-gratin. After a couple of times, our dish became popular in the family and we would be requested to prepare it at least once a month. We also prepared it when we had our boyfriends (at the time) come over for dinner, bragging about our cooking skills, as if we knew how to prepare any other complicated dishes. We even prepared it once for my (now) husband, and he loved it, even though he doesn’t care for chicken and he doesn’t like mushrooms.

Last time my grandmother came to the US, I invited her over to our place for a day of cooking. That day she taught me how to prepare the best tequeños ever, and I also asked her to show me how SHE makes the original version of this creamy chicken. She made it and showed me, but she wanted to include the changes and additions all of us in the family had made to the recipe, and it came out to be the best version of the creamy chicken I have ever had.

A couple of weeks ago, she was in a rush, and she didn’t have time to go through all her recipes, so she decided to just call me and ask me for the recipe. This particular moment in time, when my grandmother, my inspiration in the kitchen, my mentor, had called ME for a recipe, was the moment I felt like a real woman.

Therefore, I dedicate this one to my grandmother, Ana Cecilia Sandoval de Ojeda, with all my love.

What you need:

– 4 Chicken Breasts
– 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (Extra Virgin if preferred)
– 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
– ½ Teaspoon Soy Sauce
– 1 Teaspoon Adobo Seasoning (without Pepper)
– ¼ Onion (chopped in small pieces)
– 1 or 2 Garlic Cloves
– ½ Cup Sliced Mushrooms
– ½ to 1 Cup White Wine
– 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
– 3 to 4 Shallots (optional)*
– 2 Tablespoons Chopped Cilantro (optional)*
– 1 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (optional)*
– ¼ Cup Sliced Almonds (optional)*

Preparation:

1. First wash the chicken breasts and dry them thoroughly. You can filet them in half (my grandma prefers it this way), you can cook them whole, or you can make your life easier and buy the thin ones instead (just buy double the amount – so 8 thin ones instead of 4 whole ones).

Filete Breasts

2. Season the chicken breasts with the olive oil, Worcestershire, soy sauce and adobo. Make sure to get it on both sides. It’s easier if you use a bowl for this step.
3. Leave the chicken breast to soak in all those flavors, and in the meantime cut the shallots and the onions, and begin to sauté them along with the minced garlic on a pan.

Chop Onions and Shallots

4. Add the chicken to the pan and begin to sauté them as well, because they will take a bit to cook thoroughly.
5. After the chicken is partially cooked, add the mushrooms and cilantro, and continue to cook for about 5 more minutes.

Slice Mushrooms

6. Add the wine to the pan and let it cook at medium heat.
7. When the chicken breasts and the mushrooms start to brown and there is little wine left, you can add the heavy whipping cream and let it cook for a while to mix all the flavors together. NOTE: Don’t let it cook for too long, or the sauce will start to become too thick.

Cook At Medium Heat

8. At this point, you can add salt and pepper to taste (if needed), along with the ground nutmeg and almonds.
9. Serve hot with rice, vegetables and plantains.

Pollo A La Ana / Venezuelan Creamy Chicken

*All the optional ingredients are the result of all of us changing and trying to make the recipe our own.  No matter which one you decide to include or leave out, this creamy chicken will surely be a favorite in your home.

¡Buen Provecho!

Recipe: Venezuelan Taco Night

Now that you have the recipes for Guasacaca, Salsa Verde and Fresh Salsa; you can have yourself a Venezuelan Taco Night.   Tacos are CLEARLY not Venezuelan.   They are Mexican, in case you didn’t know.   However, we Venezuelans do like tacos.   Unfortunately, we do not have Taco Bell in Venezuela, so most families just make their own.   My mom made the best tacos ever, and it was a treat for us.   We helped her by chopping up all the ingredients and setting up the table while she cooked the meat and the Guasacaca.   Afterwards, we played Monopoly or Telefunken (Venezuelan Card Game).   Since I don’t live in Venezuela and I like to share my Venezuelan traditions with others, I have started my own Venezuelan Taco Night tradition.   I usually invite a couple of friends over and we have some Tacos and Board Games.   So, here is the recipe, preparations, menu and everything you need to have your own Venezuelan Taco Night.

Old El Paso Taco Shells and Tortillas

What you need (for about 4 adults + leftovers)

– 1 Box of 6 soft and 6 hard tacos (Old El Paso)
– 1 or 2 Bags of Tortilla Chips
– ½ Romaine Lettuce Head, chopped
– 4 Tomatoes, chopped
– 1 Cup of Mexican Cheese Blend (I like the Sorrento Brand)
– 1 Cup Sour Cream

Ingredients for Taco Beef

Taco Beef
– 2 lbs. Ground Beef
– 1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
– 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
– 1 Tbsp. Adobo Seasoning
– 2 Baggies of Old el Paso Original Taco Seasoning

– Guasacaca
– Salsa Verde
– Fresh Salsa

– Board Games

 

Preparation

1. Make sure you thaw the beef (I always seem to forget about this step).
2. You should condiment the beef with the soy sauce, the Worcestershire and the adobo seasoning. Mix well and let it sit.

Ground Beef

3. You can go ahead and make the Salsa Verde and the Fresh Salsa, then refrigerate until everything else is ready.
4. You can also go ahead and chop all the ingredients for inside the Tacos, like the lettuce and tomatoes and place them in a bowl and inside the fridge, along with the cheese and sour cream.
5. Now go ahead and start browning the ground beef. Once it’s almost done, drain the beef, to get rid of all the oils and juices from the beef.   Now go ahead and follow the instructions on the Taco Seasoning, and add it to the beef.
6. Prepare the Guasacaca.
7. Heat up the soft and hard tacos as instructed on the box.   I usually heat up the hard tacos in my toaster-oven and “hang” them upside-down from the rack inside the oven.   This will open them up a bit.   But be careful not to “toast” them or burn them, just turn the toaster-oven on at the lowest setting for 2 minutes.   The soft tacos you can heat up 1 minute each on a pan at low temperature.   Or you can do it the lazy way and stick them all in the microwave for a minute or two.
8. Serve everything on the table and enjoy.

Venezuelan Tacos

¡Buen Provecho!

Recipe: Venezuelan Guasacaca

This is my own version of the Venezuelan Guasacaca, which I created by modifying my mom’s recipe a bit more to my liking.   I don’t follow my own recipe every time, because I usually eyeball all the ingredients, or what we Venezuelans call “al ojo porciento”.   I usually put like double the amount of avocadoes, because well… I love avocados.   For this reason my Guasacaca never tastes the same, but every one seems to always love it.   I think the thing that makes or breaks a Guasacaca is the freshness of the ingredients.   I usually buy all the ingredients the same day or the day before I have to make it.   I also make it right before all the guests arrive… and sometimes even while the guests are arriving or already there (in true Venezuelan fashion… late).   I like getting the ingredients at a place where I know they have the freshest produce, like Whole Foods, Earth Fare, the Fresh Market and sometimes Publix.   However, you do take the risk of not finding perfectly ripe avocadoes the same day or the day before you are making your Guasacaca.   I guess you would have to know your local supermarkets very well.

Venezuelan Guasacaca Ingredients

Ingredients

4 whole large avocados
1 whole onion
1 whole bell pepper, you can mix yellow, red and green
2 sticks green onion, thinly sliced
2 whole tomatoes
1 handful of cilantro, thinly sliced
1-tablespoon vinegar
3-tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin
1-tablespoon salt
½-tablespoon pepper
1-tablespoon limejuice

Preparation

1. Cut ½ of one of the avocados in small squares and mix it in a bowl with the onion, bell peppers, green onion, tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
2. Using an electrical blender or food processor, puree the other avocados including half a cup of the previous mix and then add all the mix in the blender on to the remaining mix in the bowl.
3. Use the remaining 1/4 of the first avocado to cut in slices and decorate. You can include small squares of tomatoes for decoration and one or two leafs of parsley also.

Venezuelan Guasacaca

Tips

-You can use the avocado seeds and place them inside the Guasacaca once served to help keep it fresh (I have yet to test this theory).
– In order to buy the perfect avocados just press the thinnest part of the avocado (what I would call the top) with your thumb and it should feel soft, but not too soft.
– Sometimes I puree half of all the ingredients and thinly chop the other half, and then mix them all together.   That way you have all the flavors of all the ingredients in the pureed mix and also all the colors and slices in the diced part of the mix.
– Always add more olive oil and less vinegar.   If you add too much vinegar it will taste too strong.
– Don’t store the avocados in the fridge, because they will turn black pretty quickly.
– If you think the avocados won’t be ready by the time you need them… they say you can wrap them in newspaper and they will ripen quickly (and by “they”… I mean my mom).

A more Traditional Guasacaca Recipe:

– 1 large avocado
– 2 large onions, thinly chopped
– 2 green bell peppers, thinly chopped
– 4 green onion sticks, thinly chopped
– ½ cup of vinegar
– ½ cup of olive oil
– 1-teaspoon salt
– 1-teaspoon pepper
– 1 sprig of parsley, thinly chopped
– The entire juice of one lime

Preparation

You use only half of the avocado and dice it up in little cubes, then mix it with the rest of the thinly chopped ingredients like the onion, bell peppers, green onion, and parsley.   Then add all the other ingredients like the vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and limejuice. Then take the remaining avocado and blend it or process it, along with 3 tablespoons of the previous mix.   Finally, combine everything together.   You can garnish with a little bit of diced tomatoes on top.

Check out Venezuelan born Chef George Duran’s own Guasacaca Recipe and Video

¡Buen Provecho!