Arepas Rellenas

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Arepas made from pre-cooked cornmeal, cooked on a griddle, then split open and filled with shredded meat or chicken and melting cheese. Twenty minutes, six arepas, and the filling is whatever is in the fridge.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: stuffed arepas

Servings:

Calories: 284kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

2 cups pre-cooked cornmeal masarepa or areparina, not ordinary cornmeal
2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons butter two into the dough, one for the griddle
¼ teaspoon salt
Shredded meat or chicken for the filling
Mozzarella cheese for the filling

Instructions

In a medium bowl, put the cornmeal, two tablespoons of the butter, salt to taste and the warm water. Stir and let it stand for about 2 minutes so the meal drinks the water.
Knead until the dough is compact and easy to shape. This is what decides the texture of the arepa, so give it a minute rather than ten seconds.
Shape the arepas by hand or in a mould. A plastic bag works: put a ball of dough in the middle and press it flat with something with a flat bottom. They should be about 5 inches across and not too thin, or they will not open for filling.
Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter on a griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat. Lay the arepas on and cook for about 4 minutes a side, until golden.
Split them open with a knife and fill with mozzarella, chicken or shredded beef. Serve with hogao or guacamole.

Notes

Pre-cooked cornmeal is the only kind that works. Masarepa, sold as areparina or harina de maiz precocida, has already been cooked and dried, so warm water alone turns it into dough. Ordinary cornmeal, corn flour and polenta have not been cooked and will never come together.

Make them thick. A thin arepa browns nicely and then splits in half when you try to open it, and the whole point of these is the pocket.

Fill them while they are hot, straight off the griddle, so the cheese melts from the arepa's own heat.

Nutrition