Venezuelan Cachapa

Venezuelan Cachapa born in madeira. After several years of conducting lectures and yoga courses in the island of Madeira, many students were following our practices. Eventually, we started scheduling meditation and yoga retreats every quarterly to strengthen their practices and way of life. In one of those many retreats, a couple of Venezuelans were attending for the first time. And as always, after many retreats, we became friends and kept in touch.

When I asked them about their favorite of all staple Venezuelan food, and she said Cachapa. She described how it's prepared with fresh corn blended with butter, salt, and mozzarella cheese and baked for 30 minutes. "Is that all?" I asked.  "I will show you how to do it," she replied. A couple of days later, we were having lunch after weekly collective mediation, and she made Cachapa, loved it instantly. The next time I made it was in Caracas, Venezuela, when visit in 2005.

Corn is a staple in many countries, especially in South America. It is typically added in plenty of dishes or eaten straight after cooking from the cob. It can also be ground to make corn flour, also known as maize flour, or make corn batter for cakes. It is a rich source of carbs and fiber but also has a decent amount of protein.

A little fun always goes a long way when making recipes, So in this versions, its  Cachapa Tower (because pancake towers have been done over and over again!) To make the Cachapa, you blend the raw corn, add some coconut oil, salt, coconut cream, and bake it.  For my non-Vegan yet friends who love cheese, you can even use butter and mozzarella cheese to add a creamy, cheesy element to it.  And for this recipe, there is grilled slices of sweet potato to build the Cachapa tower.

The Cachapa on its own already tastes spectacular with the natural sweetness coming from the corn. What makes this tower special is that it goes really well with some generous amounts of pesto. In addition, you can try stacking vegetables in it; in my case, I added some sliced grilled potatoes in between to add a crispy, delicious element to the dish. Perfect with a few fried dulse algae, this dish is sure to please the palate. Read further below so you can learn how to make it too!