Ripe Plantain Arepas (Arepas de Plátano Maduro)
Arepas made from boiled ripe plantain instead of corn dough, with just enough masarepa to bind them. They come out sweet, soft and slightly sticky, and they are cooked on a griddle like any arepa. Good for breakfast with cheese. Makes seven.
Servings: 7
Calories: 164kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe plantains, unpeeled, washed and cut into pieces ripe, with a dark skin: green plantain will not sweeten or mash
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ cup masarepa (precooked corn flour) P.A.N. or Areparina; not masa harina and not cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ cup cuajada or mozzarella, crumbled cuajada is a fresh Colombian curd cheese; queso fresco works
- 1 tablespoon oil or butter, for the griddle
Instructions
- Cook the plantains in their skins in water for about 30 minutes. Take them off the heat, let them cool, and peel them.
- Mash the plantains with a fork, then add the masarepa, butter, milk and salt.
- Mix well, roll the dough into balls and flatten them into arepas.
- Heat a nonstick pan, grease it with butter, and cook the arepas about 3 minutes a side, until golden.
- Serve hot with butter, cheese, or whatever you like alongside.
Notes
Cook the plantains with the skin on, which is what the recipe says and what keeps them from going watery. The dough is stickier than a normal arepa dough because it is mostly plantain: wet your hands to shape it rather than adding more masarepa, which makes them dry. They are sweet, so they take salty things well: fresh cheese, butter, or a fried egg. Arepas de plátano maduro are eaten in both Colombia and Venezuela, and in Venezuela they are often split and filled.
Nutrition
Calories: 164kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 413mg | Potassium: 312mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 651IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg