The Venezuelan tequeños They are the most popular snack in the country. There is no party or celebration in which these white cheese bars are not present, wrapped in dough and fried in abundant oil. And it is that Venezuelans deeply love this delicious snack, something that you surely understand perfectly if you have already tried them.
In recent years, tequeños have been increasingly present on the tapas menus of Spanish restaurants and bars. In part, due to the increasing immigration of the country; but, mainly, because they make very good pre-cooked tequeños, which are the ones that are usually served almost everywhere. But, although these fifth-range tequeños do the trick, there is nothing like good Venezuelan tequeños homemade.
You can see in our video that they are easy to do. The biggest complication may be finding the authentic venezuelan llanero cheese, which is only sold in Latin product stores. We have used white goat cheese, with a hard paste and little fat, which withstands the entire process very well. And they have been great, hey.
Cut the butter into cubes and mix it with the flour, salt and sugar. We work with the tips of our fingers until we obtain a kind of crumbs. We make a hole in the center and add the egg, stir integrating part of the flour.
Then add part of the milk and mix with your hands, without kneading. the amount of milk It will depend on the type of flour that we use, not all of them absorb the same amount, so you have to keep an eye on it to see if you have to add a little more.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. We fold on itself, turn 45 degrees and stretch again with the roller. We make this operation seven times morea total of eight folds.
Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the cheese into strips of about 6 x 1 cm. Stretch the dough until very thin (2 mm) and cut strips using a cheese stick as a guide. The width of the strips must be 1.5 the width of the stick and the length between 3.5-4 sticks of cheese.
Brush each strip with water and wrap each stick with the dough, overlapping it slightly so that there are no gaps through which the cheese can come out during frying. We roll the tequeños between the hands so that the dough adheres well.
Heat plenty of olive oil in a deep frying pan and fry the tequeños until golden brown, stirring to make them homogeneous. They take approximately one minute to be ready. Once golden, let them drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve hot.
With what to accompany Venezuelan tequeños
Due to their shape, Venezuelan tequeños They ask for some kind of sauce to dip them in, right? We like to eat them with tomato or romesco sauce, although they are equally delicious on their own. Try serving them as an aperitif with a very cold beer. They will fly off the table.
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