¡Arepas!

In my home town of Norwalk CT there is a small storefront restaurant called Valencia. It is there that I was introduced to the wonders of Venezuelan arepas. These small corn meal fritters are a staple in Venezuela, served with just about everything. At Valencia you can get them filled with all sorts of meats, cheese, even eggs for breakfast. I can't do them justice with just a description, but I'll try. They have a very thin layer of crunchiness on the outside, are split open like a pita bread, and their insides are like a layer of fluffy grits. Filled with Pernil, a Venezuelan pork roast, they are pure heaven. So simple yet I'd never had anything like them.

My extended family goes there so much they are all known by the owner and staff. The last time I was there with my sister Peggy, my niece Sarah, and my nephew Will, the owner Michael said "hey your brother Robert was just here!". Not surprising, Robert and René are huge fans and friends of the owner. Robert has even smoked pork shoulders for Michael in the past. After returning from our Thanksgiving visit to Connecticut I knew I had to learn to make arepas. I began searching for recipes and watching how-to videos on YouTube. It turns out that appliance companies sell arepa makers in South America due to the popularity of arepas. I'm sure I could buy one online but I try to stick by the No Single Use Gadget ethic in the kitchen, mostly due to lack of space. Turns out they are relatively easy to make.

The first step in making arepas is finding the correct cornmeal. From what I learned online, the default masa in Venezuela is masa PAN, which after looking many places I found in the hispanic market just down the road. It comes in yellow or white corn. Valencia used white so that's what I chose. I used the recipe on the back of the package.

2½ cups of warm water

2 cups masa PAN

Dash of salt

Dissolve the salt in the water in a large bowl. Slowly stir in the masa. I do this the old fashion

way, with my hand. The dough will be relatively stiff. I let it stand for a few minutes before using it.

Crank up your oven to 400º F with the rack at middle height. I use the convection setting on mine.

Heat up a pan on the stove and add enough corn oil to coat the bottom. I've tried cast iron, carbon steel and non-stick. Non-stick is easy and only requires a small amount of oil. If you are using cast iron or steel, make sure you heat up the pan to relatively hot before adding the oil to prevent sticking. Go to rouxbe.com and watch the free video on how to pan fry. Seriously. I thought I knew how hot to get the pan before adding the oil but I was way off.

Take a chunk of the dough and roll it between your hands to form a ball a little bit bigger than a golf ball. Flatten the ball into a disc about ⅜" thick. I use a kind of slapping motion from hand to hand. I also use my thumb to help form the edge, you want it nice and smooth, not cracked.

Place the discs into the hot pan and fry on each side about 1-2 minutes. You want to get it crispy, but not cooked all the way through. A few golden brown spots are usually enough.

Once both sides are crisp, put them on a wire rack in the oven. Most oven rack wires are too widely spaced to support the arepas while they finish cooking, so if you don't have a fine mesh rack you can just use a cookie sheet.

Bake the arepas for about 10-15 minutes. They may start to puff up a little. Don't wait too long or they will be tough. As soon as they are starting to look like they are getting a little thicker I pull them out.

Your arepas will have oil on them from the frying. They are also VERY HOT! I use a folded paper towel to hold each one while I split it open with a serrated knife. I poke the knife in and work my way about ⅔ of the way around, eventually slicing further in to help separate both sides.

Fill your arepas with your favorite ingredients. Pork, chicken, avocados, cheese, eggs, anything!

Up next: Pork Pernil and Guasacaca sauce, my preferred filling for arepas.