Simple arepas

April 7, 2018 Leave a comment

Simple arepas
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This is a recipe I got from a great Venezuelan lady. I have modified it slightly to work for my tastes. If you are in the Raleigh NC area look up bracci's.

Ingredients
1 hour
4
72.61 kcal
  • 1/2 cup PAN pre-cooked white corn meal (GF).
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon touch of salt
Instructions
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
30 minutes
Ready in
1 hour
  1. Add water and salt to a bowl mix quickly
  2. Add the corn meal and mix with your hands until it approaches a 'playdough' like consistency
  3. Note that if the consistency is not right add a touch of cornmeal or water. (Not thick enough cornmeal, too thick water)
  4. Once mixed completely then let sit 2-5 minutes
  5. Grab a handful of the mix and roll into a ball.
  6. Place ball on some wax/parchment paper and press down softly until a disc is formed. This disc should not be too thin, possible a little less then a fingers width in depth.
  7. If the disk is showing 'cracks' on the edge then you did not have enough water in the mix add a couple drops and redo until this resolves.
  8. This should make two discs.
  9. Place some parchment paper on a pizza stone (I prefer pizza stones for making bread products)
  10. Cook for 30 minutes at 350.
  11. The arepa then can be cut to produce a pocket. note that the inside may seem a little gummy this is too taste. This is a proper Venezuelan style.
  12. If you prefer crispier arepa's, I cook mine for 45 minutes at 385, this leaves almost no gumminess on inside, and a nice crispy exterior.
Notes

Fillings:
Can be anything. Note that sweet fillings will not be standard Venezuelan but don't shy away from fun 🙂
My favorites so far are:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, Bacon, sausage, and a spot of cheese
Lunches and Dinners: Any ground or diced meat with veggies and cheese. I typically spice out the meal with south American or middle eastern flavors.

Alternate uses for this recipe:
The base arepa recipe if pressed much thinner can be made to an empanada or rolled around a sausage or other meats to form something like a taquito. This recipe can be modified as needed to make hundreds of different meals, making this very flexible and a great base meal.

Nutrition information
Serving Size:1 arepa
Calories per serving:72.61 kcal
Fat per serving:0.34 g
Saturated fat per serving:0.04 g
Carbs per serving:15.59 g
Protein per serving:1.4 g
Fiber per serving:0.77 g
Sugar per serving:0.32 g
Sodium per serving:114.53 mg
Nutrition label for Simple arepas
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