Arepas de Yuca (Colombian Cassava Arepas)
Arepas de yuca are made from boiled cassava rather than corn dough, with cheese kneaded into the mixture and a little masarepa to bind it. They come out softer and denser than a regular arepa, closer to a cheese bread. Browned in a pan, not baked. Makes six, in thirty minutes.
Servings: 6
Calories: 255kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb cassava, peeled, cut and cooked about 450 g; frozen yuca works and comes already peeled and cored
- ½ cup masarepa (precooked corn flour) sold as P.A.N. or Areparina in US Latin aisles
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup mozzarella or grated white cheese queso blanco is closer to the Colombian original; mozzarella melts and stretches more
- A pinch of salt
- Butter, for the pan
Instructions
- Put the cooked cassava in a large bowl and grate or mash it. Drain it well first and let it steam dry for a minute: wet cassava makes a dough that falls apart in the pan.
- Add the masarepa, the milk, the melted butter and the salt. Knead well until everything is incorporated, then let it rest for 5 minutes so the masarepa absorbs the moisture.
- Add the cheese and knead a little more. Roll the mixture into balls and shape them by hand into arepas about 1 cm thick, whatever width you like.
- Melt a little butter in a nonstick pan over medium heat, add the arepas and brown them for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden. Leave them alone until the first side has set: moving them early is what breaks them.
Nutrition
Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 130mg | Potassium: 266mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 261IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1mg