My all time favourite arepa recipe!

Venezuelan sweet arepas (arepitas dulces) are no doubt my favourite arepa variety as they are incredibly crispy and also have a very unique flavour !

So what are arepas? They are a Colombian and Venezuelan dish simply made by mixing pre-cooked cornmeal known as masa harina with water to make a dough than then its flattened into discs and cooked on a griddle. So completely gluten free and vegan!

How these arepas differ from the traditional ones is that they are sweetened with sugar, aniseed and then fried in oil so they puff up and get incredibly crispy. Their characteristic shape with a small hole on the side is said to be made so they can be hanged onto a string or stick to drain off the excess oil after frying. The original recipe calls for papelon or panela, which is unrefined whole cane sugar that comes in a solid block, a common sweetener in Latino american countries. Since this ingredient can be more tricky to source I am using white sugar instead for a more accessible version.

They are traditionally consumed for breakfast or during the afternoon stack although I love making them for dinner. If you are wondering what to have these fabulous arepitas with, the traditional filling is some queso freso for that amazing sweet and savoury contrast. But I also love stuffing them with some home made guacamole, egg or refried beans.

🌱Vegan

🍽️ 4 portions

Ingredients

• 1 cup masa harina (harina PAN brand)

• 2 tbsp white sugar

• 1 cup water

• 1 tsp aniseeds

• Optional filling: queso blanco

Method

• To a mixing bowl add the masa harina, white sugar and then the warm water (you can also add a pinch of salt now here). Mix well with a spoon and once you start getting a crumble consistency start kneading with your hands for 3-4min until obtaining a dough. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes covered so it absorbs the water. Check the dough, it should feel sort of like play dough and shouldn’t crack. If it cracks as you shape it add a bit more water 1/2 tbsp at a time until achieving the right consistency

• Dive the dough into 4 similar sized portions. Shape each portion into a ball with the palm of your hands. Place the bowl on a clean kitchen surface and with a flat plate/board press it against the surface so it flattens into a round arepa that should be around 4mm thick. At this point you can use a small bowl (around 12cm) to shape the arepa into an even circle. Finally make a small whole with a finger on one side of the arepa to give them their characteristic shape. Repeat this process with the rest of dough

• Fill a 20cm frying pan with olive/sunflower oil and bring to medium high heat. Once it has reached temperature carefully add your arepa to fry. You will notice it starts inflating as it cooks. Once it is golden on one after 4-5min side flip it with the aid of a slotted spoon so it cooks on the other side as well. Carefully remove them from the oil and place the arepa on kitchen paper to drain the excess oil (positioning it vertically helps to drain off the excess oil)

• Once the arepa has cooled down a bit after 5min use a sharp knife to cut it in half without reaching the bottom and fill it as you wish! Alternatively you can spread some butter or top it with cheese without cutting it open

FAQS and Tips

• If you cannot find queso blanco substitute for another white semi hard cheese such as feta

• You can find harina pan in most Latino American stores or in Amazon

• If your arepa doesn’t puff up while you fry it it could mean that either you made it too thick or that the oil temperature is too low. While frying it you can also use a spoon to add some hot oil to the top of the arepa to help it puff up even more