March 25, 2021

Arepas

I made Jerk Chicken this past week, and was so pleased with it, that I really wanted it again, like the exact same meal again, the next night, and the next, and the next, until it was all eaten up. There were however, a few things I didn’t make to go along with Jerk-Chicken night #1, and so I decided to mix it up a little the second night and go ahead and make some of those things that I didn’t get to. The main one being Arepas.

(Jump to the recipe file here.)

Arepas are little pre-cooked-cornmeal cakes, fried, then sometimes baked to finish all the way through, (though I believe traditionally they are only fried, sometimes in a griddle, sometimes deep fried.) My daughter called them Venezuelan Crumpets… and that about sums them up. That’s what they are; they’re Venezuelan Crumpets!

I am going ahead and posting this arepas recipe, even though I will continue to tinker with it, using pre-cooked cornmeals (other than the traditional masarepa) and/or tinkering with making my own masarepa by cooking hominy, (because masarepa seems to be the only corn product that I have trouble finding locally, and I imagine I’m not the only one with this same situation. I know I put Amazon links all over my posts, BUT, I do not ever want to be reliant on Amazon. I am determined to find ways to make my own of whatever or find ways to use products that are still available form more than one seller. One last, very short digression, if you’re also interested in knowing how to make your own raw goods: Bigger Bolder Baking by Jemma Stafford, is a website, YouTube channel and now a podcast, which covers so many raw-ingredient recipes like how to make your own buttermilk, how to make ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, cake flour, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and more. It’s a really useful resource.)

For these arepas I did use masa harina, (which I found at my local COOP grocery store, The Moonflower COOP, that buys garlic from us in the summertime,) and which is a pre-cooked cornmeal, but it’s a bit denser than masarepa, and so I added some all-purpose flour, a touch of coconut flour and some baking powder in the end as suggested by Minimalist Baker.

My arepas dough is a bit denser than I remember the arepas being at Arepa Mia in Avondale Estates, GA, which is the only other place I’ve ever had arepas. They are so good there I’ve been attempting to recreate them for a little while now. My sister-in-law introduced me to Arepas by asking, “Hey we’re getting Arepa Mia for lunch, would you like anything form there?” And I believe my response was, “A-what-a you-ah?” It turns out, this little arepas sandwich shop, which used to be located in Decatur, GA, was right across the street from an apartment in which I used to live, and I had never been in there. Thank God my sister-in-law set me straight and introduced me to them. She ended my willful blindess, towards arepas at the very least. But now I live 5,000+ miles away, and make my own, or try to.

Let’s see if I can help you try too.

Arepas

You’ll Need:

(makes 6-8 4-inch arepas)

2 cups warm, tepid water
1 generous tsp salt
1 ½ cups masa harina
1/8 cup coconut flour
¼ cup all-purpose flour (you may not use it all)
1 tsp baking powder
3-6 Tbs coconut or olive oil, for frying

Pour the warm water into a large bowl and add 1 heaping tsp salt and mix together to dissolve.

Add all of the masa harina 1 ½ cups), since you’ll definitely use all of it, then add the 1/8 cup coconut flour.

Add 1 tsp baking powder to half of the all-purpose flour (1/8 cup) and sift the baking powder in just a little, then add the baking-powder-flour to the bowl.

Mix everything together with your hands and allow the dough to come together. In moments, it should start to clean the sides of the bowl as well as the dough off your hands.

If the dough is still a bit too sticky, add more all-purpose flour a couple tablespoons at a time.

Mix and knead until the dough ball is homogeneous and not sticking to the bowl or to your hands.

Press the dough into one large ball or disc, leave it in the bowl and cover with a cloth and let rest for about 10 minutes.

Near the end of the 10-minute rest, preheat your oven to 350˚F and heat 2-3 Tbs of oil in a heavy-bottom skillet on medium-high heat.

Take golf-ball-sized balls of dough (about 2 Tbs worth) and shape them into balls, then flatten the balls into discs. I tried to make my discs thinner in the very centers to be sure they cooked all the way through.

If the sides of your discs crack too much, you can wet your hands in warm water to help shape the balls into smooth discs.

Place the shaped discs into the preheated skillet and fry for 3 minutes on each side. They should be an appetizing-looking golden brown. Feel free to flip back, and fry each side until you get the color you’re after if you don’t get it in that first 3 minutes (especially with the first few in the pan.)

Once each side is golden, place on a baking sheet, lined with parchment if you’d just like to avoid clean-up, but these really shouldn’t stick too badly if you’d like to save the parchment.

Fry the rest of the arepa discs and place them on the baking sheet as well.

Bake in your pre-heated 350˚F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are slightly puffed in the centers, giving you the signs that they are cooked in the centers.