Today I want to share with you a rich and easy recipe, traditional of Venezuelan gastronomy, the tequeños.
The tequeños are sticks of hard or Creole cheese, wrapped in bread dough, which are then fried and are crisp, golden and really very delicious.
Tequeños are the aperitifs that cannot be missing in any Venezuelan celebration, what's more, there is a saying that says: "Fiesta without tequeño is not a party", because that's how it is friends !!!, there is no marriage party, christening, fifteen years , birthdays, among others, to resist this popular Venezuelan
snack.
Its origins go back to a small town called Los Teques, which is located in the Miranda State in Venezuela, it is said that this popular snack was created by the ladies who worked in the kitchens of the wealthy families in that place, who after preparing the loaves they took the leftovers from the dough, wrapped cheese sticks and then fried, causing great delight among the people who ate them; Currently this snack has become popular and has reached the whole world, including, it has undergone some variations in its elaboration, since there are, in addition to the traditional cheese tequeños, other bolder preparations in which sweets are presented, with other fillings, masses of different flavors and even colors.
Today I am going to give you the most traditional recipe from Tequeños, below I show the ingredients:
• ½ Kilo of hard
or Creole cheese. (If there is no cheese in your country, buy one that is
consistent and can be cut into sticks.)
• 2 cups of multipurpose wheat flour.
• Egg.
• 4 tablespoons of butter.
• 2 tablespoons of sugar.
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
• 5 or 6 tablespoons of water.
• Oil to fry tequeños.
Elaboration:
In a bowl or on your kitchen table, place the flour and other dry ingredients (sugar and salt) in the shape of a volcano, then add the wet ingredients (egg, butter and water) inside the volcano, begin to integrate materials and knead until to form a homogeneous dough like the one in the photo, having the dough, spread flour on the table and spread it out rectangular with the help of a rolling pin.
Once the dough is stretched, proceed to cut strips of approximately 2cm, with the help of a pizza cutter or sharp knife, since the strips have short sticks of cheese and proceed to roll the strips of dough into the cheese, as indicated in the photograph, make a vertical turn around the cheese stick, then start from the top horizontally, gradually wrapping the cheese until you finish and form your tequeño.
Having your tequeños armed I advise you refrigerate for half an hour, to make cooking easier, once the time has elapsed, remove from the freezer and prepare a pan with plenty of oil, which you will place on medium heat, and then proceed to start fry your tequeños until golden brown.
Once golden remove from the fire and enjoy your crispy and delicious tequeños, this is the finished product:
I hope you liked my post, thanks for reading.
The photos are my own and were captured through an iPhone 7 Plus.