Cachapas!

Success - homemade cachapas!

Last weekend Tim, John and I trekked up to Washington Heights for an eating extravaganza.  On the menu were cachapas, empanadas, pastelitos, pizza from a place on Dyckman (imo: the best ever), and Dominican chicken with rice and beans.  Our plan ended up being a bit ambitious and our stomachs were only able to fit cachapas, empanadas, Dominican chicken with rice and beans ... and some shaved ice (literally shaved off a huge block of ice) with coconut syrup.

Everything was delicious, but the cachapas (from Cachapas Y Mas) were so unique and so unbelievably amazing that we pulled out Tim's handy-dandy iPhone and looked up the recipe (never thinking we would actually make them).  Fast-forward one week and I found myself making up the batter for cachapas with Tim.  Finding the batter for the actual corn "pancakes" was easy.  Finding a recipe for the filling was a bit impossible.  So, we created a Argentine-Venezuelan fusion dish - cachapas = Venezuelan while the filling and topping = Argentine. 

___________________________________________________________________________

CACHAPAS

Ingredients
2 15 oz cans of corn
1/4 cup milk
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 large egg
3/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
4 T butter

 Directions

1. Combine all the ingredients except the butter in a food processor.
2. Process the ingredients until the batter is the consistency of very thick pancake batter.
3. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high to high heat and add 1 T butter
4. After the butter has melted, add the batter forming a 3 to 4 inch round.
5. Cook on one side until the edges begin to look dry and cooked - then flip the cachapa to the other side and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes.
6. Remove the cachapa and repeat the process with the remaining batter.
7. You can store the cachapas in a warm oven until you have made the remaining cachapas.

 You could definitely make this batter the day before and just keep it in the refrigerator.
__________________________________________________________________________

FILLING - Adobo Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
2 T minced garlic

1 T minced parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (we used 1 rotisserie chicken instead)

Directions

Method 1 (chicken breasts)

1. Combine the garlic, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil
2. Rub the chicken with the mix, cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight
3. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan and fry the chicken over medium heat for about 3 minutes each side
4. Remove the chicken and place them in a baking dish to cook in the oven at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes

Method 2 (rotisserie chicken)

1. Combine the garlic, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil (you probably only need about 1/4 cup olive oil for this method).  Also add the juices from the rotisserie chicken packaging if there are any.
2. Pull the chicken off the bone and add it to the mixture
3. Heat the chicken in the mixture until the cachapas are ready 

___________________________________________________________________________

TOPPING - Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients 

1 cup firmly packed parsley leaves
3 to 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried oregano)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes


Directions

1. Place the parsley in a food process and process for several pulses
2. Add the remaining ingredients and process again for a few pulses

Oh, we also topped our cachapas with some queso fresco!

       Enjoy!