Venezuelan arepas (arepas Venezolanos)

In Venezuela, arepas often take the place of bread and are eaten throughout the entire day. Arepas can be topped with butter and your preferred spread, served with eggs or filled and eaten like a sandwich. Here we’ve used raspberry jam.

Credit: Alan Benson

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 320 g (2 cups) cornmeal flour (see Note)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil, plus extra to cook
• 435 ml (1 ¾ cups) water
• raspberry jam, to serve

Resting time 5 minutes

The following recipe has been tested and edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the podcast.

Instructions

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the oil and water and mix until you have a soft dough. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Roll the dough into 6 equal-size balls. Flatten each ball with the palm of your hand and, then, using a rolling pin, roll into circles 10 cm round and about 1 cm thick.

Place a large frying pan over medium high heat, add 1 tsp oil and cook the arepas in batches for 2–3 minutes  on each side until golden, adding more oil where necessary. Place cooked arepas in a low oven to keep warm while you cook the remainder.

Serve the arepas warm with your choice of topping.

Note

• Cornmeal flour, also called harina pan can be found in Latin delicatessens.

Photography by Alan Benson

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.