I was introduced to Venezuelan Arepas by my husband in 2014 and they quickly became one of my favourite things to eat, especially for breakfast with fried eggs. Traditionally, they are cooked with a budare, a type of metal griddle, round and flat. When I first saw my father-in-law preparing them while on a family holiday in Venezuela, I was curious as in Europe, it is not something we are accustomed to. They are made with pre-cooked white corn flour and although there are different brands available, the most popular one is called Harina P.A.N (not to be confused with any other type of cornmeal flour). Of the same brand, there is also the brown corn flour which is absolutely my favourite. However, for the fried version (they are delicious!), I prefer the white flour. And when it comes to the filling… well, you can rest assured you will love them with pretty much any type of veggies, meat, cheese or the three of them together. You only must eat Arepas once to fall in love! 😋

It makes 6 or 8 Arepas

Ingredients:

2 cups Harina P.A.N.

2.5 cups water

1 tsp salt

Method:

There is only one way of making Arepas and all you must do, is to simply follow the instructions written on the Harina P.A.N. pack:

Add salt and water to the Harina P.A.N.

Mix well for a couple of minutes and let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.

Divide the dough in 6 or 8 portions (depending on how thin you want the Arepas).

Form small balls about 10cm in diameters and flatten with your hands into a disc (not too thin as once cooked, you need to be able to slice them lengthwise to add any filling of your choice).

Cook them in a frying pan on a medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side.

When ready, try to slice them to create a pocket and add some butter.

Fill them up with whatever you fancy and enjoy while hot.