- Hey, I'm John Kanell.
And today on Preppy Kitchen,
we're making easy, amazing arepas.
So, let's get started.
First off, I'm grabbing a wire rack,
placing it on a baking sheet,
and I'm gonna preheat my oven to 350,
because we're gonna cook these in a little bit of oil,
but finish them in the oven.
Now we need two and a half cups of lukewarm water,
110 to 100 Fahrenheit.
Our lukewarm water is going into a large bowl.
This recipe is so fun to make.
If you've never made arepas before,
they are so easy and the most versatile thing ever.
You can add any filling you like
and it's gonna be delicious.
One teaspoon of salt.
Gonna use my fingers for this recipe,
so make sure they're nice and clean.
I'm gonna give this a little stir.
And now I want two cups or 285 grams
of pre-cooked cornmeal.
Stir together with your fingers.
This feels so good.
It's like a spa day in the kitchen.
Arepas are a very traditional dish.
They actually date back to pre-Columbian times.
And they were made in Venezuela,
Columbia, Panama, that whole area.
And they became popular way further than that
as time moved on.
Depending on where you are,
they're filled with different things.
So, they could be filled
with various kinds of meats, beans, cheese,
like basically anything.
Usually savory though.
And you can let me know in the comments
if you have some favorite fillings for arepas.
Did some stirring.
I'm just doing this for fun now, because it's totally done.
But you can see we have
like a soft Play-Doh-like substance almost.
Just going to pat that down
so there's no stray bits hanging up.
And this cornmeal has been precooked.
So, what's gonna happen now is the water will hydrate it.
It just needs some time to sit.
We're actually gonna cover them
so they don't dry out on top
and let them rest for 10 minutes.
All the water will seep into that pre-cooked cornmeal
and they'll be so like just amazing on the inside.
If you watch this channel,
you might see my lovely mother Rita pop in
every once in a while.
And you know she's from Mexico and a wonderful cook.
We grew up having tons of delicious things,
including these arepas.
So, she actually loves making fresh tortillas too,
but these were a wonderful change of pace
and they go with everything.
You can add any kind of filling in
and they are so easy and delicious.
After 10 minutes or so,
open it up and it looks exactly the same,
but it's different because everything is hydrated.
So now grab a knife.
And I'm gonna cut this into eight pie pieces.
Just cut it into quarters and then have the quarters.
Just like that.
Super soft.
We're gonna roll this into a ball
and then pat it out into a cute little patty.
If you use the correct amount of masa,
you'll have a wonderful, soft dough like this,
and you'll notice it's not cracking.
Just pat it into a half-inch thick patty like this.
And we're gonna set that aside and repeat for the rest.
This is really fun for kids with clean hands
to help with, by the way.
When I make these for Laughlin and George,
they love having them with cheese and beans on the inside.
And George loves some tomatoes too.
My last patty is all shaped up.
They look gorgeous.
And if you haven't made these guys before,
think of them like an alternative to a bun.
So you're making these,
they're gonna have a crisp, beautiful exterior,
a spongy interior that's really satisfying.
Anything you love can go in here.
And as my friend told me, he was from Panama.
"The more you add in, the better it is."
So overflowing, spilling out, they're gonna be delicious.
It's time for a quarter cup of oil onto a pan.
Could be cast iron or any of your favorite pans.
Place it over medium heat.
And we want this oil to get nice and hot,
so just take a look for some ripples.
Once you see those,
we're ready to place our arepas on there.
You don't want those smoking hot though,
because they will burn,
and they need to have like a gentle or medium heat.
I am so happy with these patties by the way.
The last time I made this,
I added a little bit too much cornmeal,
or a little bit too little water.
They had little cracks all over,
which was bothering my Virgo feelings.
Okay, my oil has beautiful ripples.
It's not smoking, so I'm gonna grab a spatula.
And by the way, I placed these on a sheet of paper,
just because if you put them directly on the wire rack,
you get unsightly marks, which I do not love.
I'm gonna fry these up in batches.
We're gonna cook these until they're golden brown.
They'll look really beautiful.
And it's about four minutes of cook time,
but it totally depends on your cooktop
and the heat you have.
You can move them around every once in a while
just to make sure they don't stick.
And for all of my people who are gluten sensitive,
this is a really great recipe,
because there's no flour in there,
but you can still have like an alternative
to a sandwich bread that's kind of fun and new.
It's like not your normal one-to-one substitution.
One thing that can really disappoint in arepas
is having to be so bland.
So, when we added that salt in, give it a taste.
It's precooked cornmeal, there's nothing to worry about.
Just taste for the salt level,
because that really affects a lot.
If it's really bland,
you're definitely gonna be disappointed.
It's like, "Ugh, I'm never making these again.
"What a waste."
But add a little more salt in them,
you could add other spices if you want.
It'll be really complementing
whatever you're filling them with,
or just be delicious on their own.
Some people just like these with butter
and that is delicious.
Feels stiff on the bottom,
so I know it's probably almost there.
There we go.
This needed something to act like a thumb.
George has been on a total quesadilla kick.
So today for lunch, he's gonna have some arepas con queso.
So, we're gonna fill 'em up with cheese,
and I'll see if he wants some avocado and beans in them too.
Add the next batch in.
You might need to adjust your temperature
'cause your pan will get hot,
and you don't want these guys to burn.
They need a medium heat,
so the inside can cook a bit as well.
By the way, a little browning is totally fine.
It's almost what you want.
So, if you want a little bit more caramelization
from that corn, they could be browner.
If you want them on the lighter side, that's fine too.
This, I would say, is like as light as they could be.
They will brown up a little bit more in the oven.
These guys are something that don't need constant attention.
So, if you wanna work on some fillings,
do some dishes, you can come back to them.
Just keep an eye on them every minute or two.
If you're wondering why these guys are called arepas,
arepa is a word that means cornbread
in the language spoken
in the eastern coast of Venezuela basically.
It's the Cumanagoto language,
but you can correct me on the pronunciation in the comments,
because I know that I have to be butchering it.
So, I'm sorry.
These guys look like they're golden brown.
We're gonna pop those right onto our wire rack.
So, all eight are completed.
We're gonna bake these in the oven
on the wire rack for 15 minutes at 350,
pull them out and stuff 'em.
These guys are out of the oven and they smell amazing.
But let them cool down just a bit,
because they're still cooking.
So, they're cooking out of the oven too.
If you open them up right now,
they'll be a little bit wet
and you want them to be spongy, but not wet.
These have been cooling, so I'm gonna cut one open.
One of these guys is an arepa con queso for George.
He loves melted cheese.
And you could even toss this back into the oven to warm up.
You could microwave it.
You could broil the cheese a bit
if you have a hand broiler like I do.
And then I'm gonna show you what it looks like.
My easy arepa con queso is totally done.
So quick.
Beautiful cheese pull.
George is gonna love it.
But let me show you a couple other combinations too.
You can load these up.
I'm gonna make another veggie one.
So more cheese, some black beans,
and a little avocado and cilantro,
and a little bit more cheese.
And then this is ready to enjoy.
This is like a halfway loaded arepa.
You can totally go crazy and make them sky high.
A little cheese on both sides.
Some pulled pork for a Venezuelan vibe.
Add some beans with a little bit of avocado
and some cilantro.
We're gonna close that up.
And this is some deliciousness.
That is delicious.
Oh my gosh.
It's fried on the outside, so it's so crisp,
but soft on the inside.
And with some cheese are the delicious fillings,
it's just about perfect.
I hope you get a chance to try this recipe.
And if you like this video, check out my Latin playlist.