Tomada en Chichiriviche, Parque Nacional Morrocoy, Estado Falcón, Venezuela.

Blue Runners,Caranx crysos,in Chichiriviche de la Costa,Venezuela,Caribbean Sea.

Think of them as the South American version of pancakes. The cakes are made with just two ingredients: corn and masa harina, plus the requisite sprinkling of salt and pepper. There’s a simplicity to the recipe that means a batch can be made as easily at midnight as in the afternoon. Which means you can stovetop travel to the beaches of Venezuela any time you like. While you can make cachapas with fresh corn in the fall, you can also use frozen corn any time of year. Corn gives the cachapas sweet overtones. Masa harina – a flour made from hominy, the big-kerneled cousin to corn – binds the mixture together so the corncake holds its shape (all the better for topping with ooey gooey cheese!). Speaking of cheese, the key to the cachapas is to sprinkle them with a shredded soft cheese, fold in half, and eat while steaming hot. You can use queso mano, a soft mild cheese favored by Venezuelans, though shredded mozarella is a fine (and delicious) substitute. Some Venezuelans pass on the cheese, preferring to butter the cachapas.