Mention arepas to some native Colombians or Venezuelans and chances are that they’ll begin to reminisce about being little children at a warm kitchen table, eating arepas made by the loving hands of a mother or grandmother.
Arepas are corncakes that at their simplest have just two ingredients: ground corn and water. When made this way, they are rather bland and can be used as a sort of sandwich base with meat and cheese, or else eaten with a big plate of savory beans and meat, much the same way that Americans might eat dinner rolls. Another popular kind of arepa is one made with sweet corn. If you’re lucky enough to live in a US city with a large South American population, such as New York, Miami or Houston, you might find these in the frozen section at a local grocery store or being sold fresh in a small bakery.
The arepa recipe here is a little different from any of these. After tasting these arepas, you will be spoiled for any other kind – they’re are a bit crispy on the outside, hot and steamy on the inside, and so flavorful that they are best eaten plain, with just a pat of slowly-melting butter on top. Try making a big recipe of the dough, and store what isn’t used right away in a sealed container in the fridge where it will keep for 5 or 6 days. In the mornings all you have to do is remove the amount of dough for the size of arepa that you would like, pat it into a cake and pop in the oven. Voila – breakfast is ready!
Arepas make a great breakfast food, because they are such a hearty and filling way to start the day. However, if you happen to be barbecuing for dinner and you have the grill fired up, try throwing a few of these directly onto the hot metal grating. The crispy and smoky flavor is so delicious that you might forget all about the steak.
This is a treasured recipe that has been passed down through generations, and so none of the measurements are exact. Don’t worry – making arepas is not a science, and they’ll taste wonderful even if they are a little different every time.
You will need:
- Butter, approximately ½ cup
- Precooked white corn meal, approximately 1 lb (PAN is a common brand, and comes in a 2-lb yellow plastic bag that you can find in the Mexican or Hispanic food aisle of almost any grocery store)
- Milk, approximately 3 cups
- Panela, approximately 3 tbsp grated (Panela is a solid stick of brown sugar made from cane juice; Goya is a common brand, and comes in a small 8-oz cone in the Mexican or Hispanic food aisle. However, you can easily substitute regular brown sugar for this)
- Queso fresco, a little less than 1 lb grated (Queso fresco is a soft white cheese and is commonly available under many different brand names. It is sometimes also called Latin American cheese or Mexican cheese, and it usually comes in round, 1 lb packages)
- Salt, to taste
Directions:
- In a saucepan on the stove, heat the milk, panela and butter. Meanwhile, put the corn meal , salt and queso fresco in a large mixing bowl.
- When the milk mixture is just beginning to boil, pour it over the corn meal mixture and stir all the ingredients together. (This is easiest to do in an electric mixer because of the heat, but it can be done by hand as well). The dough should be very thick and not sticky; if the texture is not to your satisfaction, adjust it by adding either a little more milk or cornmeal.
- Take a handful of the dough and pat it into a round cake that is not more than 3/4” thick.
- Bake the arepas for about 10 minutes or until they start to turn golden. You can do this on a metal grill (the kind that you can buy for tortillas works well) either in a toaster oven, or under a broiler, or over an electric oven burner.
- Serve hot with a pat of butter on top.
Enjoy!
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