Sandwiches & Burgers: Arepas

Arepas are a Venezuelan dish that is delicious and very sandwich-like. The arepas themselves are made with corn flour. They're simple with few ingredients, so they're incredibly easy to make. You can use either white corn flour or yellow. Whichever you prefer. But it does need to be corn flour. Corn meal or corn starch won't work.


If you make a lot of bread products, you'll notice the ratio of water to flour seems off. This is because corn flour absorbs liquid differently than wheat flour. You can substitute all purpose flour if you like, but you'll need more of it than indicated in this recipe. The resulting product will also no longer be true arepas, but if you're just serving them to yourself and your family, it doesn't matter. You can also use all purpose flour and corn meal, if that appeals to you. Again, you'll have to adjust your ratios.


You can use anything you like for the filling. I've chosen potatoes, cheese, and turkey because that's what my kids wanted when I was making these. You can do any fillings you like.


Ingredients


For the Arepas
2½ cups warm water
1 tbsp salt
2 cups corn flour
1 tbsp oil


For the Filling
1 large potato
12 slices of cheddar cheese
12 slices of ham, turkey, or chicken


Preparation


Combine all arepas ingredients in a large bowl and mix until you have a soft dough. There's no kneading involved here, so just mix with your hands until you have a dough you can handle. Don't be afraid to add a little more corn flour or water to achieve a dough you're comfortable working with.


Divide the dough into 12 portions. Flatten each portion into a disc that is ¼- to ½-inch thick. They need not be too large or too thick. Remember that they will not rise due to the lack or baking powder or yeast, so the size you make is the size you will get.


Heat oven to 350°F. Take a little excess oil and rub it over both sides of the discs. Heat a skillet over medium heat, then fry the discs for 2-3 minutes per side. Remove from heat and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.


Meanwhile, peel the potato and cut into thin rounds. The thinner the better. Fry these in a bit of oil in a skillet (usually the same one you cooked the arepas in) until they are golden brown, turning once. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.


Split the arepas open and remove the tops. Add several slices of potato, a single slice of cheese, and a single slice of turkey (or other protein) onto the bottoms of the arepas. Replace the tops. Return areaps to the oven for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.


Sprinkle with parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired, before serving.