Empanada de cazón

Ingredients

Filling

• 600 gcazón or firm white fish
• 2onions, finely chopped
• 1red pepper, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato paste
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1 teaspoonachiote or paprika
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• salt and black pepper

Dough

• 500 gmasarepa, precooked maize flour
• about 700 ml warm water
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1 teaspoonachiote, for colour
• 2 tablespoonsoil

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• guasacaca, avocado sauce
• lime wedges
• hot sauce

Directions

1. Poach the fish in salted water. Give it about eight full minutes. Lift it out and let it cool down. Flake it and check carefully for bones. Discard any skin that remains. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan. Add the chopped onions and red pepper. Cook them for about eight minutes. Add the crushed garlic and the cumin.
2. Add the achiote for its colour. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add the flaked fish to the pan. Stir it through the pan gently. Do not break it down to a paste. Season it with salt and black pepper.
3. Cook it until it is dry rather than saucy. Wet filling bursts the empanadas in the oil. Stir in the chopped coriander. Let it cool completely before using it.
4. Put the masarepa and salt in a large bowl. Add the achiote for its colour. Pour in the warm water gradually. Mix it with your hand as you pour. Add the oil to the bowl as well. Knead it in the bowl for three minutes. It should be soft, smooth and slightly tacky.
5. Press a piece flat between your palms. If the edges crack, add more warm water. Let it rest for five full minutes. Shaping them needs plastic sheets. Cut open a plastic bag into two sheets. Take a ball of dough the size of an egg. Set it between the two sheets. Press it flat with a plate or a board. Aim for a round about fifteen centimetres.
6. Make it about three millimetres thick. Working between plastic stops it tearing. Peel off the top sheet of plastic. Spoon cold filling onto one half. Leave a clear border around the edge. Do not overfill them at any point.
7. Use the bottom sheet to fold it over. That way you never touch the fragile dough. Press the edges together firmly. Trim the edge with a plate or a bowl rim. Press the edge again with a fork. Patch any cracks with a little wet dough.
8. Pour oil into a deep pan to eight centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil to about 180C for frying. A scrap of dough should sizzle up at once. Fry them for about three minutes a side. Turn them over as they colour. They should be golden and blistered.
9. Lift them onto a wire rack to drain. Serving them is done piping hot. Serve guasacaca alongside them. Put a bowl of hot sauce on the table. They go soft within about fifteen minutes.

Technique

• Cazon generally means a juvenile or small shark, and sharks grow slowly, mature late and produce few young, so taking juveniles that have never bred is particularly damaging to already declining populations.
• Sharks accumulate methylmercury as long-lived predators near the top of the food chain, and health authorities in many countries advise limiting shark and avoiding it in pregnancy and childhood.
• Masarepa is precooked maize flour, quite different from nixtamalised masa harina or from plain cornmeal, and the wrong flour gives a dough that will not hold.

Substitutions

• Tuna, mahi mahi or any firm white fish make an equally good filling and avoid the shark concerns entirely.
• Masarepa is essential for the dough and cannot be replaced with cornmeal.

Variations

• A tuna version is sold alongside the shark one at the same stalls.
• Some stalls fill them with cheese, chicken or black beans.
• Arepas are made from the same masarepa dough.

History

Maize turnover filled with stewed baby shark, the signature street food of Margarita island and the eastern coast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Empanada de cazón?

Empanada de cazón is a street food from Venezuela: fried corn empanada of stewed baby shark, Margarita specialty. Maize turnover filled with stewed baby shark, the signature street food of Margarita island and the eastern coast.

How long does Empanada de cazón take to make?

Empanada de cazón takes 45 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 12 empanadas. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Empanada de cazón?

Yes, within limits. Tuna, mahi mahi or any firm white fish make an equally good filling and avoid the shark concerns entirely. Masarepa is essential for the dough and cannot be replaced with cornmeal.

What is the most important thing to get right in Empanada de cazón?

Add the achiote for its colour. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add the flaked fish to the pan. Stir it through the pan gently. Do not break it down to a paste. Season it with salt and black pepper.