How to make Venezuelan arepas, so easy to prepare.

 Learning How to Make Venezuelan Arepas will open endless options to offer your family a delicious meal. 

 The arepa is a flat, dish-shapped, unleavened patty made of maize flour which can be grilled, fried or even boil. Depending on what kind of meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) can be filled in many ways. If serving for breakfast, my favorite filling is scrambled eggs, or cheese and ham. Now, if  they are to be served for lunch or dinner they goes perfect with chicken,beef, pork, tuna or beans.

 Back home the arepa is the most popular food. They’re served in every home and I would dare to say that almost every day. They would be  the equivalent of  biscuits in U.S, the tortillas in Mexico, or the baguettes in France.This one was a delicious breakfast. I filled them with “perico”(scramble eggs with tomatoes and onion) and cheese. 

 If you like to experiment in the kitchen I strongly recommend you to try this recipe.  Easy and quick to prepare. Because they can be filled with almost anything, it’s a perfect option to use leftovers. For example: if you have some chicken, just shredded it, fill the arepa, add some cheese, wrapped in foil… Bam! The perfect school lunch for the kids next day. 

 HOW TO MAKE VENEZUELAN AREPAS:

 Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1  1/2 cups Harina P.A.N. (pre-cooked white maize meal)
• 1 teaspoon corn oil

 Instructions

1. Wash your hands
2. In a medium bowl add water and salt. Mix until the salt is dissolved.
3. Slowly add the harina P.A.N. Mix with your hands, making circular movements and breaking with your finger the lumps that may form. Let rest 5 minutes to thicken.
4. Preheat a non-stick 11 inch square griddle over medium heat. If you don't have a griddle you can use a skillet instead.
5. After 5 minutes add the oil to the dough and work it in with your hands for 2 minutes. The dough should be firm enough holds its shape without cracking when molded. If it is too soft add a little more of harina P.A.N; if too hard add a little more water.
6. Form balls and flatten them gently until they’re about 1/2-inch thick discs.
7. Place the discs over the preheat griddle and cook the arepas for 5-7 minutes on each side or until lightly golden brown.
8. Split each arepa in half and fill them with whatever you like: cheese, ham, egg, beans, chicken, beef, tuna ... your creativity is the limit!
9. Serve hot.

I hope you enjoy it ;)