Cheesy arepa balls with quick Venezuelan sour cream (natilla)

Venezuelan sour cream (nata) is a savoury spread often used on arepas, cachapas (sweet corn pancakes) and bollitos (dumplings). It's lighter than cream cheese but thicker than cream. This quick natilla version was created by the Venezuelan diaspora who couldn't source nata overseas and became very popular with Venezuelan communities worldwide looking for a taste of home away from home.

Cheesy arepa balls with quick Venezuelan sour cream (natilla) Credit: Kitti Gould

• makes

  15

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• neutral flavour oil, for deep frying
• 2 cups (500 ml) water
• 1½ cup precooked white or yellow corn flour (Harina P.A.N)
• 3 tbsp self-raising wheat flour
• 150 g cheese (feta, or grated cheddar, or a mixture)
• salt

Sour cream

• 300 ml thickened cream
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp white vinegar
• salt

Chilling time: 2 hours minimum, preferably overnight

Instructions

1. To make the quick Venezuelan sour cream, in a medium bowl, whisk all the sour cream ingredients and season with salt to taste. Refrigerate for 2 hours, preferably overnight.
2. To make the cheesy arepa balls, heat enough neutral oil to deep fry in a large saucepan to 170˚C.
3. While the oil is heating, in a large mixing bowl, combine the water, corn flour, wheat flour, cheese mixture and a generous pinch of salt. Mix well to combine and then form balls (approximately the size of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate!), then deep fry until golden and crisp.
4. Serve the cheesy arepa balls with the sour cream for dipping.

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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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.

Stream free On Demand

Fast, Fried And Crispy

Watch The Full Episode Here

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Watch The Full Episode Here

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