Venezuelan corn bread (arepa)

You can have an arepa for breakfast, lunch or dinner: It's perfect with eggs in the morning, it makes an excellent gluten-free sandwich, and it's great as bread with a soup or a stew at night.

Credit: The Latin Kitchen

• makes

  6

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Use these to make Juan Pablo's arepas with lime and garlic prawns (arepas de camarones); arepas with chicken salad (arepas reina pepiada); or braised brisket-stuffed arepa (arepa pelúa).

 

Ingredients

• 3 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ cups lukewarm water
• 2 cups pre-cooked white corn flour (see Note)
• 45 ml corn oil

Resting time: 10 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, and water.  Whisk until sugar and salt dissolve completely.

3. Add corn flour a bit at a time, mixing well between additions. Once all flour has been added, knead the dough until firm and smooth.

4. Let dough rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

5. Divide dough into portions and press each portion into rounds about 2.5 cm (1 inch) thick.

6. Heat corn oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Place flattened dough balls into the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, until brown on the second side.

7. Remove arepas from pan and place on a baking tray. Bake arepas until they sound hollow when tapped (see Note).

Note

• Harina pan, a pre-cooked corn flour, is also known as masarepa. Find it in specialist retailers and some greengrocers (Harina PAN is also the name of one of the common brands). It is not the same as masa harina, a treated corn flour used for tortillas. To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure the flour you buy is 100 per cent corn.

•Juan Pablo says the time the arepa need in the oven will vary, it could be as little as 15 minutes or as much as 40, depending on the dough, your oven, and other factors. “It really depends on how crunchy you want the outside to be and how hungry you are!”

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.

Use these to make Juan Pablo's arepas with lime and garlic prawns (arepas de camarones); arepas with chicken salad (arepas reina pepiada); or braised brisket-stuffed arepa (arepa pelúa).