Venezuelan Arepas: How to make the classic arepa asada?

1985. Arepas Venezuelan: How to make the classic arepa asada?

One of the nice things about being born in Venezuela, is having the possibility of having grown up in a place that is also fertile and sunny, with beautiful beaches very close to almost all the big cities and a people, in general, quite happy, is that you experience a fun and diverse daily gastronomic tour! With this I mean, it is very typical that you have an arepa filled with Dutch yellow cheese, you eat a kibbeh in the Arab restaurant and you have some spaghetti that your mother learned from her Italian friend. That’s how we are.

All this is because Venezuela in its good times, a few decades ago, opened the doors to every foreigner determined to reach these lands and live that Caribbean and South American mix. It’s like my case, with Lebanese parents and grandparents I grew up with the taste of the Middle East combined with these Venezuelan flavors. That’s why, to pay homage to one of the most typical dishes of my country: the arepa, in this post I teach you how to prepare a classic roasted arepa, or widow (arepa sola), which is the basis of all famous arepas Venezuelan: the reina pepiada, the catira, the “pelúa”, the sifrina, dominó, among others. The idea of this publication is that when you see my other stuffed arepas recipes you know how to prepare the arepa and concentrate on making a great filling.

Tomorrow we will be publishing the one from the famous arepa “reina pepiada”!

The recipe for the “widow” arepa or the classic Venezuelan roasted arepa.

Ingredients: (for 4 or 5 arepas)

1 ¼ cup of precooked corn flour (I almost always use the PAN flour brand).

1 cup of water

Salt to taste (1/2 to 1 tsp or teaspoon)

Optional: 1 splash of vegetable oil.

What I do?

1 In a bowl I add water and salt. Then the flour and vegetable oil (this to reduce the cracks in the arepas, but I almost never do).

2 Let it sit for about two minutes, and then mix the ingredients with your hands or with a wooden palette. The dough is formed. If the dough is soft enough.

3 I make some balls.

4 Then those balls I make them into 1.5-2 cm thick disks. I fix the edges.

5 I put a large pan, or a grill to heat over low heat with a little oil (just so they do not stick). I add the arepas, and I toast them for 5 to 8 minutes on each side or until they get golden brown. I always cook them over low heat!

6 I remove the arepas and serve them. I can eat them alone (arepa widow) or fill with ham, cheese, scrumbled eggs or whatever I can think of.

Take into account that this is the base of the Venezuelan arepas and that their fillings, besides delicious, have peculiar and funny names. Tomorrow on the blog I’ll show you hot to cook a reina pepiada that is a arepa with a filling of chicken, avocado and mayonnaise.

If you have any doubt you can contact me by Instagram: @food.o.grafo or Email: hola@foodografo.com. I will be happy to help you!!