Venezuelan chicken and cheese empanadas

How to make Venezuelan chicken and cheese empanadas.

Making empanadas in Venezuela is part of its most deeply rooted gastronomic culture, rivaling its famous arepas .

Throughout the country, we can find empanadas with all kinds of fillings. The cheese empanadas, of meatloaf , of ground beef or the chicken , are perhaps the most popular. Today we got down to work with some Venezuelan empanadas with chicken and cheese.

The reality is that the preparation of empanadas is not limited to Venezuela, in countries like Argentina, Chile or Bolivia, we can find empanadas with many similarities.

In Venezuela, depending on the region or zone, there are variations in its elaboration, mainly in fillings. The empanadas de pabellón criollo , popular in Caracas, those of chicken and cheese from Puerto Cabelo , in the state of Carabobo, those of Guiana cheese , chicken stew or meat and curry , in Puerto Ordaz, or the empanadas de fruits de mar on Margarita Island, they are examples of the great variety that exists.

Venezuelan empanadas are made from precooked, white or yellow corn flour. We can use white flour and add onoto, or what is the same, Mexican achiote, which will add color and flavor to the dough. If we don’t have onoto, we can substitute it for turmeric. The elaboration can also be in two ways, fried in abundant oil or prepared in the oven.

In any of its versions, Venezuelan empanadas are a delicious snack, and specifically the recipe that we prepare today, with chicken and cheese, a juicy and flavorful option .

Preparation of filling of Venezuelan chicken and cheese empanadas

1. We clean the chicken breast by removing traces of fat and cartilage that they may have.
2. In a saucepan add the chicken broth, the leek and the chicken breast already clean. Add a point of salt, cover the casserole and cook the meat for 25 minutes.
3. Once the meat is cooked, we let it temper before proceeding to crumble it and form threads. We reserve.
4. In a saucepan, heat a splash of olive oil. Add the red pepper and diced onion.
5. We fry the vegetables until they are soft, between 15 and 17 minutes.
6. When the vegetables are ready, add the frayed chicken.
7. We cook a few more minutes while incorporating all the ingredients. We turn off and reserve.

Preparation of the Venezuelan empanada dough

1. In a bowl we mix the dry ingredients to make the dough, the precooked cornmeal, sugar, salt and turmeric.
2. We incorporate the water little by little, removing the mixture as we incorporate it.
3. When all the water is added, we pass to the hands and knead lightly until we have a smooth, dry and uniform dough.
4. We form the portions of what will be our empanadas. We can make them big or small. For rather large empanadas, we can use about 125 g. of dough. If we prefer small empanadas, half the weight would be enough.
5. We place the portion of dough, flattening it, between kitchen plastic. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 2 or 3 mm thick. We separate the plastic and we have it ready to fill.

Montage of Venezuelan chicken and cheese empanadas

1. We add the chicken filling on the already stretched dough and cover with the cheese. With the help of plastic, we fold the dough on itself.
2. We press the edges and, with the help of a kitchen cup, seal the edge by pressing the cup against the dough.
3. We remove the dough, remove the plastic that covers the pie and collect the excess edges. We prepare all the empanadas before continuing.
4. We fry the empanadas, on both sides, in plenty of oil.
5. We remove to a source with kitchen paper to remove excess oil and serve very hot.

Burn us that I know you … eat little by little, bit by bit. Accompany with a good sauce and return to Venezuela dear.

As always, at the end of the entry you have the photos of the step by step. Do not miss any detail of this Venezuelan chicken and cheese empanadas recipe .

Tips for yummy chicken and cheese empanadas

• It is important that the filling does not release much liquid, rather they must be dry, so they do not wet and break the dough. Well, we want to prevent the oil from skipping when we fry the empanadas.
• If we want a lighter finish, we can bake the empanadas instead of frying them. To do this, brush them with olive oil and bake them, at 190º C for 20 minutes. The process is longer, as they take longer than fried patties, less calories, of course.
• The recipe is for 4 people, but at home when we prepare empanadas we make for many more, you just have to double quantities. Why? Well, since you are at work, it is best to overdo it and then freeze for another day.
• They freeze very well, so we make the empanadas and without frying, we wrap them individually in waxed paper, baking paper or film and place in a freezer bag with zipper closure.
• When you feel like … just take them out of the freezer, leave them 10 minutes at room temperature and fry. They will look like freshly made, crispy and juicy.