Blog #4: A Match Made in Heaven

 I was out the other night, dining at an artful and cozy American restaurant that featured some twists on international favorites and was pleasantly surprised by their version of the arepa. Arepas are a Colombian/Venezuelan favorite made of corn cakes, often stuffed with cheese and deep fried. While there can be other versions, the fried dough with cheese version is the one I am most familiar with. It got me thinking about humanities love affair with all things fried dough and cheese. Personally, I can’t even imagine my life without this delectable combination. I mean, talk about a match made in heaven! I know I am not alone here because almost every country has their own version of this dynamic duo. Let’s take a look at some of the fan favorites. 

When the Coral Princess would dock in Cartegena, Colombia, I never wanted to spend time on the beach in the newer part of the city because I had Huatulco, Mexico on the itinereary for that. In Cartegena, I would run to the old city, surrounded by a wall and reached by taxi and would marvel at the Spanish Colonial Architecture. There, I would always enjoy a delicious meal, sometimes international, but usually authentic. One of my favorite meals was a simple breakfast of Colombian arepas. In a sense, a recipe couldn’t get more simple! It consists merely of water, pre-cooked white corn meal, mozerella cheese, salt and butter. Piece of cake, right? Well, like all doughs, Arepas are also dependent on the dough being the right consistency in order to get the right texture, once fried. For those who are a bit more health conscious, this traditional recipe calls for pan frying (on a griddle) rather than deep frying so, that’s just a little bonus! Most big cities will have restaurants that offer this special treat (try “Viva Las Arepas” in Las Vegas for the Venezuelan version). 

Now let’s travel to Brazil. Pastel de queijo is a street food that will not disspoint! It resembles a larger potsticker or a gyoza, however, the wrapper is thinner and flakier and of course, it’s filled with ooey, gooey cheese. It usually comes wrapped in some sort of wax paper, straight out of the fryer, creating that beautiful, stringy, stretch of cheese between the pastry and your mouth, once bitten. Isn’t that just the sign of the most impeccable bite? When it’s just a little too hot but you’ll risk burning your tongue for that stringy, oozing, melty cheese, flanked between that crispy, doughy perfection? If you don’t want to stop there, pastels come stuffed with all kinds of meats and sweets, but I personally adore this simple combo of dough and cheese…the match made in heaven. 

Very similar in preparation but slightly different in flavor (and more easliy accessible in the US) is the famous empenada. The main difference you will notice is the thickness in wrapper. The name comes from the verb “empenar” which means to wrap or surround with bread. This dish originated in Spain and Portugal but is now a mainstay of many South American countries. I very much enjoyed eating empenadas in Panama where I could find a plate of 3 (in different flavors) fot the equivalent of $2.50 USD and believe me when I say, I would always leave full and completely satisfied. God, how I miss travelling! The Chilean cheese empenada is a perfect puff of fried dough filled with soft, jack cheese. If you’d like to try making these at home, there is no shame in buying the wrappers (for ex: La Saltena brand for frying)! If you’d prefer to dine out, I can almost assure you that you’ll be able to find a restaurant in your city that is serving up these little pillows of goodness. If you are a fellow Las Vegas local, try Rincon de Buenos Aires Restaurant, which, while I myself haven’t tried yet, Google rates at 4.6/5. 

Last but not least, of course I have to take you all to India! Who’s ever heard of paneer poori? Paneer is an Indian cheese with the texture of tofu and a mild, milky flavor. Unlike European cheeses, you will be hard pressed to find someone eating paneer alone because it is usually not salted and some people would even describe it as tasteless! This could be why it goes so perfectly in Indian curries such as palak paneer made with cream and spinach or matar paneer made with spices and peas. Oh, and don’t expect this cheese to melt because it won’t! In any case, paneer poori is not something that is commonly found in Indian restaurants in America, but if you do see it, give it a go! It’s definitely a tasty treat. Unlike the previously mentioned dough and cheese combos, the paneer in this recipe gets grated right into the dough before deep frying so, no ooey, gooey bites here! Just a lovely flavor addition to your already mouth watering poori. For those who are unfamiliar, poori is a round, light, wheat bread of India, mostly deep fried. I grew up eating these with chicken curry or channa (a chick pea curry) and masala potatoes. My mother would fry these up at least once a week (was I spoiled or what?). Now the only thing that can get people to bake fresh bread is a global pandemic! 

So, what is the worlds fascination with fried dough and cheese? I don’t think it’s rocket science. Salt. Texture. Flavor. Here in the US, many of us would say we crave mozzerella sticks after a night of drinking or a grilled cheese with tomato soup on a cold and rainy day. What IS absolutely fascinating though is the sheer number of fried dough and cheese recipes out there! In fact, I’d venture to sat that every single country has their own version. Go on out there and take a bite of a new version of fried cheese and dough for YOU. Do it now, or do it on your cheat day but whatever you do, don’t deny yourself of this simple culinary pleasure. It’s comfort food at its best. Happy eating!