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Arepas, Venezuelan flatbreads


Arepas

Here are the ingredients and recipe for preparing arepas, a typical dish originating from Venezuela that is very easy to make at home!

Arepas are one of the best-known Venezuelan recipes in the world. These soft focaccias, in fact, originate from Venezuela but are also very widespread in other areas of South America such as Colombia.

The basic dough is made with pre-cooked white corn flour , called masa, water and salt without the need to add yeast. It is essential to buy the right flour to make them because it is precisely in this ingredient that the secret to the perfect success of Venezuelan focacinne is hidden. You can find it for sale online or in the most well-stocked ethnic shops. Let's see all the steps of preparing arepas right away!

Arepas
Arepas

Ingredients

For the arepas

  • Pre-cooked white corn flour – 320 g
  • Water – 400 ml
  • Fine salt – 1 teaspoon
  • Corn seed oil – to taste

Preparation

How to prepare the arepas recipe

1

In a bowl, combine the flour and salt and give a quick mix. Then slowly pour in the water, kneading with your hands until you obtain a soft but not sticky dough . For this reason it is better to add the water little by little: you may not need all of it. Cover it and let it rest for a few minutes.

2

Divide the dough into balls about the size of a peach and flatten them with your hands until they reach 1-1.5 cm thick .

3

Heat a non-stick pan with a drizzle of oil or use a fat-free cast iron griddle and start cooking the arepas. It will take about 4-5 minutes per side , turning them from time to time to prevent them from burning. They should be crispy on the outside and moist in the center.

4

Serve the arepas while they are still hot, filling them as desired.

To show you how simple they are to prepare, we also leave you a video with all the steps.

How to fill arepas?

The focaccias prepared following this recipe are very similar to our tigelle . You can then stuff them the Italian way with cured meats, cold cuts and cheeses, or be inspired by local traditions.

In Venezuela, for example, it is customary to fill them with guacamole , red beans, tuna, vegetables and pulled meat such as pulled pork . In Colombia, however, those stuffed with cheese and egg cannot be missing.

Conservation

We recommend consuming the scones at the moment , as over time they will tend to harden and become unappetizing. Alternatively, once cooked and brought back to room temperature you can freeze them in the freezer (being careful to separate them from a sheet of baking paper so that they don't stick to each other).

Origin and history

These corn flour-based focaccias are the basis of the diet of many people in South America and can be compared in importance to our bread. It seems that they were prepared even before the invasion of the Europeans by the Cumanagoths , an ethnic group established in central-southern Colombia.

According to Mariano Picón-Salas, author of a text that we could translate as "Brief history of arepas" , the colonizers , despite the presence of soft wheat crops, had to adapt to consuming these buns, hybridizing them if anything with their traditional bread.

Naturally gluten-free and yeast-free , they adapt to the most diverse diets. Today they are served as street food and freshly stuffed with the most disparate ingredients.

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