Pastel de chucho (English: Stingray pie; see "chucho") is a delicacy made of stingrays, common in Eastern Venezuela and Margarita. The creole dish is described as "gourmet".
The dish is traditional food in the South American country of Venezuela, and a very common dish in Eastern coastal areas. Its popularity may be attributed to how it is both sweet and salty, its famous gourmet flavoring.[1] [2] The pie looks, and is constructed, like a lasagna.[3]
The pie is made from stingray/manta ray and plantains. However, in areas where it isn't easy to find rays, Venezuelans will use a different kind of flat fish to create the dish,[2] like dogfish[1] or small sharks[4] (like the Mexican pan de cazón). The dish often also contains various vegetables and spices, cheese,[2] and molasses.[1]
The ray or fish is shredded to make the pie, giving it a distinct texture.[1] The ingredients are fried to make the pie.[1] [2]
Though having a strong local tradition and identity, the dish has only been in existence since the 1980s.[5] Also, whilst common all year round it is typically an Easter[5] or Lent meal.[4]
A chef famous for making the dish is Rubén Santiago.[3] [4]
In 2011 a short animated film was released, called Hoy no se hace pastel de chucho (English: No Stingray Pie for Dinner Tonight). The film focuses on an ecological message encouraging the people of Margarita and Nueva Esparta to stop hunting stingrays for food.[6]
There are usually stingray pies at the Margarita Gastronomy Festival, and in 2013 the festival organised an attempt to cook the largest ever pie; this was denounced by environmentalist groups.[7]