Thanks to the Miami Herald today, we have a lesson in how to make the Venezuelan dish called the cachapa. This is a savory pancake made of corn that is eaten with mild white cheese and makes a tasty snack. The recipe that appears in the Herald is from the book The South American Table.
In Venezuela, the best cachapas are usually grilled to a golden brown on a large, flat budare like the one pictured here.
The cachapa is said to come from Venezuela’s indigenous heritage, particularly in the interior of the country. Corn was an important staple food for many Native American communities.
It is also the main ingredient in another Venezuelan snack that remains popular today; the singular arepa.
