Venezuelan Arepas Go International on 12 September

Come Join the Venezuelan Arepa Party at Cargo, Shoreditch, on 12 September 

On Saturday 12 September Venezuelans around the world will be flying their national flag, playing Venezuelan music, and gathering together in an act of gastronomic unity to enjoy the country's most emblematic national dish: arepas.

That's because the 12th of September has been christened World Arepa Day (El Dia Mundial de la Arepa), an international event that aims to spread the word about this scrumptious South American street food and turn on local foodies, adventurous eaters, and gastronauts to the joys of the arepa.

These cornflour patties, made from Harina PAN, can be eaten plain, or stuffed with delicious fillings like shredded beef, shredded chicken, black beans, grated cheese, fried plantains and dollops of goopy avocado sauce called guasacaca..

In London, the place to be for this culinary celebration is at the outdoor food area by Cargo, at 89 Rivington Street in Shoreditch, where the folks from the Guasacaca food stall will be cooking up a full spread of fillings to delight all tastes, including vegetarian options, from 12-8 pm (although under 18's can only stay until 4 pm).

One must-try arepa is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas. Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955.

All the arepas cost £6 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

According to David Gutierrez Aznar, who runs Guasacaca, it's a huge honour to create a little corner of Venezuela in London on such an important day.

Harina PAN goodie bags

"We really want to make Venezuelans in London feel like they are at home on 12 September, with traditional games, music and, of course, the traditional flavours of our arepas," says David.

"But we also want British people to come over and try our food because every year we do this the feedback is incredible and when people here try our arepas they really love them."

To set a party mood Chebeto Requena, a Venezuelan musician based in London will be providing traditional tunes throughout the afternoon, and Santa Teresa rum cocktails should warm things up if the weather turns cold.,

Guasacaca have also put together some Harina PAN goodie-bags with a kilo of flour, and a booklet of recipes showing how to make arepas. The bags will be raffled on the day.

For more information follow @guascacalondon on Twitter and the hashtags #WorldArepaDay, #DiaMundialDeLaArepa, and #ArepaLovers

The outdoor space at Cargo will be covered in the yellow, red, and blue of the Venezuelan flag on Saturday, 12 September, to celebrate World Arepa Day. 

Celebrate World Arepa Day, London, 14 September

Saturday, 14 September is Arepazo Mundial - World Arepa Day - and food stalls and restaurants all over the world will be celebrating the staple food of Venezuela by cooking up arepas (cornbread buns) of all shapes and sizes, stuffed with all manner of tasty fillings.

 

              The Arepazo Mundial brings together all Venezuelans - wherever they may be - in an act of gastronomic unity, and this year is no exception. If you want to join in the celebrations in London, head for the Guasacaca food stall in London's Acklam Village Market, off Portobello Road (W10), which will be serving a full spread of arepas to delight all tastes from 11 am to 6 pm.

The guys at Guasacaca have also organized a special day of Latin music and dancing, courtesy of London radio station Latina Network, that will include live music, salsa classes and other surprises.

For those new to the arepa, these disc-shaped cornbread buns are big enough to hold in two hands and can be eaten plain or with butter. More typically, they are opened up like a pocket and stuffed with savoury fillings, such as shredded beef, black beans, grated cheese, avocado and chicken, or any combination that takes your fancy.

The must-try arepa filling they sell at Guasacaca is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas.

Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955.

The Reina Pepiada is popular with Venezuelan party-goers who like to end a big night out with something sticky, savoury and filling (a sort of South American version of the donor kebab).

But whatever filling you try, don't forget to add the final flourish, a dollop of tasty guasaca sauce, made with avocados, or a spicy splash of picante hot sauce.

All arepas cost £5 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

For the young Venezuelans who run the stall, David Gutierrez, Irua Dugarte, Andrea Villalba and Andres Gonzalez, the Arepazo Mundial is an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Venezuelan food and convert more people to the flavours of their homeland.

Acklam Village Market (W10 5TY) is one of the coolest street food markets in London, a place to feed your face after a morning browsing the antique stalls and vintage clothes shops of Portobello Road. A recent visitor to the stall is none other than British Prime Minister David Cameron (see photo below).

The Guasacaca stall is in front of a laid back bar with tables and sofas where you can sip a beer and listen to live music while tucking into the international street food on offer from the various stalls. On Saturday, expect live music and dancing events organized by Latina Network, a London-based radio station that broadcasts news and music for the Latin American community.

How to get there: Take the Tube to Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City or Circle Lines and then cross the street and walk straight on until you get to the market entrance. Alternatively go to Notting Hill Gate on the Central Line and make your way down Portobello Road to Acklam Road.

 

 

To find out more about the arepazo in London go on Twitter - #ArepazoMundial #DíaInternacionalDeLaArepa @GUASACACALONDON @latinanetwork

Venezuelan Gastronomic Fair - London, 9 March

Venezuelan food lovers should make some room for a big blowout and head down to the Irish Centre in Hammersmith on Saturday, 9 March, because the organizers of the annual Christmas Bazaar have decided to hold another massive food fair.

From noon to 6pm a variety of stalls will be selling a range of Venezuelan traditional food, from snacks like arepas and empanadas to full-on feasts of pabellon criollo, pernil (pork), asado negro (beef cooked with cane sugar until black), served with rice, fried plantains and caraotas negras (black beans).

There will be food, music and raffles for all the family, a bouncy castle and face painting for the kids, and Venezuelan-style cocktails like guarapita (passionfruit and rum) for the adults.

Stallholder Luisa Chavez, a Venezuelan who lives in London and is rightly famous for her quesillo (creme caramel) and torta de tres leches (ridiculously delicious cake), will also be bringing homemade Venezuelan queso duro blanco (hard, white cheese) to the event.

Other stallholders include Mi Cocina es Tuya and the folks from Arepa & Co, who Venezuelan food-addicts will already know from their very successful weekend stall at Camden Lock Market.

The Irish Centre is in Blacks Road, Hammersmith (W6 9TD), close to two Tube stations - the Hammersmith and City Line station and the Picadilly and Central Line station.

Recipe: Guasacaca - Venezuela's Tastiest Sauce

(All text Copyright Russell Maddicks)

Guasacaca is probably one of the finest sauces ever invented. It has a cool name that rolls off the tongue and a taste that makes your mouth go ñum ñum!

It's a simple but staggeringly tasty combination of avocado, fresh parsley and coriander, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, oil and vinegar.

And it's quick and easy to make. You just throw the ingredients in the blender and whoozh until you get the consistency you want: thicker for dips, runnier for drizzling on empanadas, arepas and meat.

In Venezuela, guasacaca is eaten with barbecued meat from the parilla - beef, sausage, chicken, and my favourite morcilla (black pudding).

Unlike a lot of US chefs, George knows the difference between Venezuelan guasacaca and Mexican guacamole. He was born in Caracas to Armenian parents, before moving to New York, where he lives today.

The only change I would make to George's excellent recipe is to replace the olive oil with corn oil, to keep it 100 per cent authentic.

If you have a family recipe for guasacaca you want to share just add a comment below.

George Duran's Guasacaca Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 green sweet peppers, seeded, deveined, and roughly chopped
2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
2 cloves garlic
Half a bunch of fresh parsley leaves
Half a bunch fresh cilantro leaves
A third cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Preparation:
Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor and process until mostly smooth. Add the olive oil in a stream with the processor running and process until smooth. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour for the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve sauce at room temperature with meats, fish, or vegetable chips. If made in advance, store, covered, in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Keep Calm and Eat Arepas - In Portobello Market

Andres Gonzalez and David Gutierrez, who run the Guasacaca food stall in London's Acklam Village Market, have had so many requests for their distinctive "Keep Calm and Eat Arepas" T-shirts that they have decided to sell them. Now you can visit the stall in London's Portobello Road, enjoy a traditional Venezuelan arepa and pick up a cool T-shirt to impress your friends. Guasacaca is open every Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm.

If you want a tasty Venezuelan snack in South London head for Acklam Village Market (W10) - an offshoot of Portobello Road Market - where the folks at the Guasacaca foodstall offer a full spread of arepas to delight all tastes.

For the enterprising young Venezuelans who run the stall, David Gutierrez, Irua Dugarte, Andrea Villalba and Andres Gonzalez, the small but colourful stall is an excellent opportunity to spread the word about Venezuelan food and convert more people to the flavours of their homeland.

For those new to the arepa, these disc-shaped cornbread patties are big enough to hold in two hands and can be eaten plain or with butter. More typically, they are opened up like a pocket and stuffed with tasty fillings, such as shredded beef, black beans, grated cheese, avocado and chicken, or any combination that takes your fancy.

The must-try arepa filling they sell at Guasacaca is the Reina Pepiada, a lip-smacking combination of shredded chicken, mashed avocado, mayonnaise and peas.

Not surprisingly for Venezuela - famous for the stunning beauty of its lady folk - the Reina Pepiada is named after local lovely Susana Dujim, who won Miss World in 1955. It is popular with Venezuelan party-goers who like to end a big night out with something sticky, savoury and filling (a sort of South American version of the donor kebab).

But whatever filling you try, don't forget to add the final flourish, a dollop of tasty guasaca sauce, made with avocados, or a spicy splash of picante hot sauce.
All arepas cost £5 and you can mix and match any of the fillings on the menu.

The latest addition to the stall came about by chance. The "keep Calm and Eat Arepas" T-shirts that the Guasacaca team had specially printed to give the stall. a distinctive look have proved so popular with customers that they have decided to offer them for sale. 

The T-shirts are so popular in fact that David recommends that anyone interested in buying one should contact Guasacaca with their sizes and colour preferences to avoid disappointment, either at their Guasacaca-London facebook page or email them at Guasacacalondon@gmail.com

Acklam Village Market (W10 5TY) is one of the coolest street food markets in London, a place to feed your face after a morning browsing the posh antique shops and cheap and cheerful vintage clothes stalls of Portobello Road.

Guasacaca is flanked by a variety of stalls selling ethnic street foods from a variety of countries. One of the benefits of Acklam is the laid back bar with tables and sofas where you can sip a beer and listen to live music while tucking into your Venezuelan arepas, Jamaican patties or South Indian samosas.

How to get there: Take the Tube to Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith and City or Circle Lines and then cross the street at the zebra crossing and walk straight through the market to Portobello Road, Acklam Village is in front of you on the other side of the road. Alternatively go to Notting Hill Gate on the Central Line and make your way down Portobello Road to Acklam Road.

Venezuelan food now on sale in Southampton

Hot and tasty Venezuelan snacks are now available in Southampton on Saturdays, after Yasmily Barrios Teran decided to open a stall selling traditional food from her native Venezuela at the seaside city's popular Bargate Market.

Teran, originally from Maracay, only started selling Venezuelan empanadas (fried cornmeal turnovers with savoury fillings) and arepas one month ago.

The empanadas on sale include plain cheese, cheese and plantain, "domino" (cheese and black beans), shredded beef, minced beef, fish, and the very filling "pabellon" (shredded beef, plantain, rice and black beans).

For those with a sweet tooth, she also sells churros con chocolate, a traditional Spanish combination of piped donut mix that is deep fried, sprinkled with sugar or cinnamon, and served with hot chocolate. A great way to keep out the cold on a chilly day.

The response from her British customers has been so positive that she now plans to continue with the stall until Christmas.

"I didn't know what to expect from the local people. There are no other Venezuelan food stalls here, Venezuelan food is not well known and they haven't tried empanadas before. But they love them, especially the domino - filled with cheese and black beans - which really surprised me," she says.

On her stall, Teran stresses the health benefits of arepas and empanadas, which are made with cornmeal flour and are wheat and gluten-free (perfect for coeliac sufferers).

She uses halal meat so the local Asian population can tuck in too.

For an authentic Venezuelan empanada experience, be sure to spoon on the homemade sauces - a smooth guasacaca (wah-sa-kaka), made with avocadoes, and a fiery picante.

Now she's established, Teran hopes the word will spread and more people will seek out her Venezuelan snacks, especially Venezuelans living in the South of England.

If you want to taste Yasmily Barrios Teran's empanadas visit Bargate Market in Southampton from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. any Saturday.

Guasacaca - Venezuela's tastiest sauce

Guasacaca is probably one of the finest sauces ever invented. It has a cool name that rolls off the tongue and a taste that makes your mouth go ñum ñum!

It's a simple but staggeringly tasty combination of avocado, fresh parsley and coriander, green bell pepper, onion, garlic, salt, oil and vinegar.

And it's quick and easy to make. You just throw the ingredients in the blender and whoozh until you get the consistency you want: thicker for dips, runnier for drizzling on empanadas and meat.

In Venezuela, guasacaca is eaten with barbecued meat from the parilla - beef, sausage, chicken, and my favourite morcilla (black pudding).

Unlike a lot of US chefs, George knows the difference between Venezuelan guasacaca and Mexican guacamole. He was born in Caracas to Armenian parents, before moving to New York, where he lives today.

The only change I would make to George's excellent recipe is to replace the olive oil with corn oil, to keep it 100 per cent authentic.

If you have a family recipe for guasacaca you want to share just add a comment below.

George Duran's Guasacaca Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 green sweet peppers, seeded, deveined, and roughly chopped
2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
2 cloves garlic
Half a bunch of fresh parsley leaves
Half a bunch fresh cilantro leaves
A third cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Preparation:
Put everything except the olive oil into a food processor and process until mostly smooth. Add the olive oil in a stream with the processor running and process until smooth. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour for the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve sauce at room temperature with meats, fish, or vegetable chips. If made in advance, store, covered, in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.