Arepa are one of the most popular foods in Colombia. They are often eaten every day and so versatile that they can be served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They might be served with rich Colombian hot chocolate; with soft fresh cheese; with guacamole or fresh tomato salsa; with prawns; the possibilities are endless!

There are many recipes for arepas and this is one variant 🙂

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup fine cornmeal flour
• 1/2 cup Colombian queso campesino, or queso doble crema, or shredded mozzarella.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• Butter / rice bran oil for pan

All about corn flours

An important note for this recipe is that in Colombia they use a special arepa flour (masarepa) which is a precooked fine cornmeal. It can be sourced in New Zealand but it is a speciality item.

If you don’t have access to masarepa, you can use a gluten free substitute; you will need a larger quantity as it will not absorb the liquid in the same way. For instance, 1.5 cups Cornmeal Flour (not to be confused with NZ cornflour) and 1/2 cup gluten free baking flour.

Directions

1. Warm the milk and butter (either in a pot or in a microwave).
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm milk (with dissolved butter) + cornmeal flour + salt + frozen corn + mozzarella. Mix until you have a dough-like batter.
3. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into balls and then flatten.
5. You can choose to: deep fry or lightly fry on a skillet / frying pan; give them a very light coating of oil and cook them in the air fryer (which I did); or even cook them in a panini press. The aim is to be golden crisp on the outside and cooked through. They are best served warm and are delicious eaten straight away.