Venezuela: Saint John’s Salad & Red Pepper Rice.

Venezuela is a country of contrasts with a unique global location. It shares northern maritime borders with both the Atlantic Ocean and also the Caribbean Sea.  The country has a significant landmass on the north coast of South America and also includes many small islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. Near neighbours in South America include Guyana to the east, Colombia to the west and Brazil to the south.  The cuisine of Venezuela has many influences including native American traditions, and European food practices from Spain, Portugal, France and Italy. 

 

 Our Menu included

 Saint John’s Salad 

& 

Red Pepper Rice. 

The  Ensalada de San Juan  (St. John Salad),  is amazing!

The surprising combination of tangy fruit & fragrant goats cheese is a total winner. 

According to http://venezuelantaste.blogspot.com.au/  

Ensalada de San Juan is an almost forgotten salad from the Andes region of Venezuela.  

I say bring it back as it is definitely a recipe I will make again &  recommend you try!

ENSALADA DE SAN JUAN - ST. JOHN SALAD

INGREDIENTS

·      1 small lettuce

·      1 or 2 Grapefruit

·      1 or 2 Oranges

·      180 gm firm Goat Cheese

·      1 or 2 Green Mango

·      1 can of sweet corn (drained)

PREPARATION

1.     Cut the peel off the Grapefruits & Oranges then slice &  dice, discard seeds & reserve any juice left on the board

2. Cut the mango into cubes

3.     Tear the lettuce into small pieces and place in a bowl

4.     Top lettuce with fruits, corn, and diced cheese

5.     Sprinkle with the reserved citrus juices & a little salt

Recipe adapted from one found at:

http://venezuelantaste.blogspot.com.au/

Note: Photo used under Fair Use Laws from: https://venezuelantaste.blogspot.com/search/label/Salad

IMPORTANT DRESSING NOTE:

the original recipe included a dressing of Corn oil, vinegar & salt.

I was initially disappointed that I couldn’t buy corn oil because I wanted to follow the recipe & I was very interested to taste the impact of the flavours of corn & fruit. But when our local organic food store told me they had stopped stocking corn oil because they couldn’t get  Non-Genetically Modified (NGM) corn oil,  I was glad I didn’t buy it & feed it to the people I love.

Arguments for & against Genetically Modified (GM) food are powerful, however, I am convinced by the science of Germany who banned the cultivation of  GM Corn in 2010 due to its negative health impacts (http://www.naturalnews.com/030733_Germany_GMOs.html).

If you want to try making the original dressing, please make sure your corn oil is NGM.

VENEZUELAN RED PEPPER  RICE 

INGREDIENTS

·      1 tablespoon canola oil

·      1/2 cup finely chopped onion

·      1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

·      1 garlic clove, minced

·      4 cups water

·      1/2 teaspoon salt

·      2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

METHOD

1.     Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

2.     Add onion and pepper to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally

3.      Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly

4.     Add 4 cups water and salt; bring to a boil. Stir in rice.

5.     Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

6.     Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Sourced from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/venezuelan-white-rice-arroz-blanco-venezolano-10000001809146/