The empanada and I
I haven’t talked a lot about Venezuelan cuisine mainly because I’m not a big fan. The problem that I find with most Caribbean food is that they use the same ingredients as Haitians, but prepare them in a different way. So, dishes that I would expect to taste one way, don’t. For instance, the national Venezuelan dish is called Pabellon. It consists of white rice, black beans, shredded beef or chicken, fried sweet plantains and avocados. In Haiti, we eat all of the above, but not together. Also, the black beans are prepared differently (Haitians puree them, Venezuelans boil them). The fried sweet plantains are usually eaten prior to the rice dish or not at all. We do some eat rice with avocado, but it’s more commonly eaten with polenta or with a dish called ble.
After the arepa (I will post about that later), I would venture to say that Venezuelan’s favorite snack is the empanada. I acquired the taste for
empanadas after a while because the corn meal used to make them is used for porridge in Haiti. Therefore, it always had a subtle sweetness (probably psychological) and that mixed with meat just didn’t work with my palette. Eventually the flavors began to grow on me and I now I have them a couple times a week as a mid-morning snack. Venezuelans commonly eat them for breakfast, though.
So little by little, I am building a healthy relationship with Venezuelan food; one empanada at a time. 
Tags: Empanadas, Venezualan food, Venezuela, Venezuelan Culture
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Hey Deborah,
Just discovered the blog and am loving it thus far!
Being a Haitian myself (born in NY, parents moved in their earlier years) I too have discovered that the islands cook a majority of the same foods. The things that I believe Haitians don’t prepare are curries and jerk. Having travled to Costa Rica last year, I was surprised to see that Central Americans also cook traditionally West Indian cuisines.
Hey, Jessica! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I think that Jamaican cuisine is the closest to Haitian, but even they use some spices in their rice and beans that we don't. I love jerk chicken, though. We don't have anything like it so I think it eliminated the issue of "this isn't supposed to taste like this"
The one dish that I have yet to see duplicated is diri ak djonjon (rice and mushrooms).
I always assumed, b/c of the “Caribbean” ingrediants that the food in Venezuela would be good. There must be farmers markets and great neighborhood spots! Is the food fresh?
I use to work with a Haitian woman who often brought rice and beans for me. I Loved It. She used Maggi. I tried several times to cook it like her, but no luck.
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I made the same assumption. Well, I’m not going to say that it’s not good, it’s just not to my liking. I feel as though Haitians are a bit more creative with their use of spices in dishes. In terms of root vegetables, plantains and fruit, you can find them fresh any day of the week. The meat is another story. Even the butchers sell meat that seems to have been frozen for a long time. It’s hard to find very good beef, even in restaurants.
I worked in East Orange NJ which has a large Haitian population. So I know about the good food. There a few Haitain spots that I enjoyed. Not too distinct from other caribbean foods. Too bad is not to your liking. Next time u are in US or Haiti u hv to stock up.
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It is impossible to escape the empanada in Argentina, but they are quite different from the Venezuelan version (and no one eats them for breakfast here!). I happen to love them, and the Argentines can be fairly creative with the fillings (although the standards are beef, ham and cheese, chicken, and onion and cheese). The dough is made from flour instead of cornmeal, so I imagine they taste rather different from the Venezuelan ones.
I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the food when I came here. I imagine it’s more difficult for you since you have Haitian cuisine always hovering in the background as the basis for comparison. I’m glad you’re starting to make peace with the food in your adopted home.
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I’ve eaten the ones with flour (in South Florida) and I prefer those. Using the corn meal took a lot of getting used to and I just think the consistency works better with flour. I hate to admit it, but I’m starting to think that I’m a picky eater