my mom is from Venezuela so I'm familiar with arepas and these reminded me of the ones my mom used to make
I make these a couple times a week bc my husband is from Venezuela. These are a staple in Venezuela and can be stuffed with anything from ham and cheese to steak. They are also good stuffed with chicken salad. It took me a a few tries to get them perfect but they are worth it. Very good.
I'm not Venezuelan, I live in Guadalajara, Jalisco. We are so used to making these, we make quesadillas, and we deep-fry them, slice 'em open and stuff with cubed bistec and very spicy tomato sauce. They can also be made with Maseca. Same consistency. If you live in Mexico, P.A.N. can be found in any Superama, Walmart doesn't have it. Thanks for posting, I love your recipes!!!
I just had to post how you actually make the Arepas before frying. You grab a handful of dough and roll it around in your hand until it is a smooth ball (the heat of the hands helps to get rid of rough edges). Then you slowly pat the ball until it is evenly flat, not too thick or thin. Adding Parmesan cheese to the dough adds a nice touch, but I find simple is better. You can also make thick oven Arepas by heating the Arepas in a pan lightly greased until it has a bit of a shell, then pop in oven until it is cooked through and looks a little flaky, cooking time varies depending on size and how long they were in the pan, you can also skip the pan step. =)
This is pretty much the recipe from the cornmeal product container. Having said that... you can't really beat it. Sometimes if only seving as a vessel for salsa I 'll add some seasoning to the batter but it is totally not necessary. Easy fast and delish.
Made these exactly as described, using coconut oil, and they came out perfect. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Filled some with chorizo, sliced chayotes, and grated cheddar, others with Italian sausage, peppers, onions and cheddar, after sauteing the chorizo, chayotes, italian sausage, peppers, and onions in separate piles in a large skillet. They were delicious, and perfect for me because they are gluten-free!
these are very good especially with cheese.
great recipe I always have to fry them a bit longer on each side. i've been eating these at home since I was a kid. In Colombia they eat these with everything. I recently wrote on my blog about my life eating arepas as a Colombian American along with a food and music pairing
I used canola oil because I was out of vegetable oil still worked!
Maybe I did something wrong but I thought these were extremely bland plus they were kind of sticky in the middle almost like they weren't cooked enough but hard on the outside like they were overcooked. I made them twice with the same results I tried cooking them faster the first time and then slowly on lower heat the second time. The texture is just terrible and I don't know how to fix that. It's a shame because my daughter is celiac and I'm always trying to find her a quick sandwich option that's not terrible. I'll keep trying until I use up the PAN which I had to order on-line but I don't think I'll buy any more.
