How To Make Arepas With Just 3 Ingredients

Arepas are fried corn cakes from South America that taste scrumptiously flavorful and are the ideal treat to stuff with your favorite cheeses, meats, and other food. With a soft and fluffy core, the outside is golden and crispy. Arepas are renowned for being simple to make, but their versatility is what really sets them apart. Just 3 ingredients required to make this really easy arepas recipe. If you want to learn how to make arepas, this article will show you how.

What Are Arepas?

Arepas are a delicacy of South America that are highly versatile. Arepas, cornmeal cakes, have been made for hundreds of years in the area that is now Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama. Colombian arepas tend to be sweeter, thinner, and stuffed with cheese, but Venezuelan arepas are frequently smaller and thicker. They were traditionally prepared on a budare pan. Moreover, they can be grilled, baked, or fried. Depending on the region, the characteristics can vary in terms of color, flavor, size, and the type of food that can be used to stuff it. Arepas possess a fluffy center encircled by a crispy outer.

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Ingredients Required:

Arepas just require three ingredients, which makes them quite simple to make. Three simple ingredients—salt, water (that we don’t consider as an ingredient), cooking oil, and areparina or masarepa—a special pre-cooked corn flour particularly for making arepas—are all that are needed for this 30-minute recipe.

How To Make Arepas?

Ingredients:

2 cups lukewarm water
1 heaped tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon of avocado, coconut, or vegan butter (if avoiding oil, just omit and make sure your pan is non-stick)
2 cups of areparina (also known as masarepa; it is neither cornmeal or masa harina; we combined white and yellow from the PAN and GOYA brands)

Instructions-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 C). A baking sheet should be set out and lined with parchment paper. Add salt and water to a big mixing bowl. To combine and dissolve salt, stir.

Add the areparina gradually, whisking or stirring with your hands after each addition. Although we often end up with 1-2 Tbsp of leftovers, you can work your way up to two cups. A dough that is moldable, moist, and capable of being rolled into a ball is what you want because it won’t readily stick to your hands. Cover with a towel for 5 minutes after it reaches that consistency. Both white and yellow areparin were mixed(optional).

Remove the cover, take a substantial quantity of dough, and roll into a ball.

To make an about 1/2-inch thick disc (for thin, crispier arepas, press nearer to 1/4 inch), gently press the ball between the palms of your hands. Your dough can require 1-2 (15-30 ml) extra water if it cracks significantly on the sides. A little cracking is acceptable; just gently pat the edges of the cracks with your palms to close them.

When the arepas have been made, heat a large cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add a little oil after it’s heated and swirl to coat. After that, add the arepas, separating them slightly to prevent touching. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until dark golden brown (a few blackened spots are fine completely). A crust is what you are hoping for. Then turn it over and cook for a further two to three minutes, or until the bottom is similarly browned.

Place on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until slightly puffed and a lighter shade of golden brown. While some folks like to chop into them right away, we discover that they can be a little doughy in the center at that point and therefore prefer to let them cool for 5–10 minutes before serving them warm but just not piping hot.

To eat, chop the arepa in half and eat it that way, spread vegan butter and some maple syrup on both sides, or split it in half and leave a seam on the edge so you can stuff it just like a pita. Black beans, rice, guacamole, or Vegan Barbacoa could all be used as fillings.

Favorable when it is fresh. Covered leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator for 3–4 days or the freezer for up to 1 month (cooked or uncooked). Reheat in an oven set to 350°F (176°C) until well warmed. If you want to reheat frozen uncooked arepas, we suggest letting them thaw first and then cooking them according to the instructions.

Nutrition(one of six servings)-

Serving: 1 (Arepas), Carbohydrates: 46.9 g, Calories: 233, Protein: 4.3 g, Fat: 2.3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.31 g, Saturated Fat: 0.3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1.6 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Trans Fat: 0 g, Potassium: 0 mg, Sodium: 390 mg, Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0 g, Vitamin A: 0 IU, Calcium: 0.89 mg, Vitamin C: 0 mg, Iron: 3.84 mg.