The one thing about living in Miami is your grow accustom to various cuisines from all over the world, with a strong influence in Latin American culture and the various delicious food items that come from each country in namely Central and South America. We were recently introduced to a popular Venezuelan appetizer called tequenos, which are crispy fried Latin mozzarella (cheese) sticks, but in this case, using queso blanco, a similar Spanish style cheese to mozzarella, deep fried and served with your favorite dipping sauce. We experienced this delicious treat at a restaurant called Casabe 305 Bistro in Coral Gables and felt the need to recreate the dish with a recipe of our our own. Now you can learn how to make fried cheese sticks: tequenos Venezuelan mozzarella sticks.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 6 tablespoons cold water, plus more as needed
- 12 ounces queso blanco cut into 1/2 inch slices
- corn oil, for frying
- Place flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl, mix to combine. Add cold butter cubes and mix creating small pieces mixed in with flour.
- Add in egg and water pressing dough against side of bowl until it forms into a ball. If dough is not fully forming, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Press dough into a disc, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and rest in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Unwrap dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a square 1/8-inch thick. Cut off edges to create a 12-inch square. Cut square into strips 3/4-inch wide. Should give you 12 strips.
- Take one strip of dough wrapping entire cheese slice in dough on a diagonal, overlapping dough like a corkscrew. Cover tops and bottom of cheese slice in dough and pinch edges close to fully seal. Repeat with remaining cheese slices.
- Fill a cast iron skillet with oil. Heat oil to 400°F over medium to high heat. Place tequeños in oil and fry until crust is golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, turning halfway through. Transfer tequeños to a paper towel lined plate, let cool for 1 to 2 minutes, then serve immediately.
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