The most beautiful and tasty arepa variation !

If you have been following me for a while you probably know I am obsessed with arepas (a typical corn flour bread from Colombia and Venezuela). You can find in my blog recipes for the traditional ones or different versions using plantain, beetroot or yuca. Since it is summer and I love a beautiful colourful dish for this season I am bringing you a lovely sweet potato version. The sweet potato not only adds a lovely golden orange colour but also improves the nutritional value of the dish as they are high in vitamin A, C and manganese!

The traditional arepa recipe only calls for two ingredients: harina pan and water. Even though the recipe is very simple, nailing the method is what really matters! The amount of liquid to add is not an exact science and you need to get a feel for the dough consistency to achieve the perfect arepa.

I am doing a simple mozzarella cheese filling but feel free to use any other traditional ingredients such as refried beans, plantain or reina pepia.

🌱Vegetarian

🍽️ 3 large arepas

Ingredients

• 200g sweet potato (approximately 2 sweet potatoes)

• 180g arepa flour

• 100g water

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• Filling: mozzarella cheese

Method

• Wrap the sweet potato in tin foil and bake in the oven at 180C for 45-50min until completely soft and tender. Alternatively you can cook it in the microwave for 10-12min if you prefer a speedier version of the recipe. Once cooked, cut in half and scoop out the sweet potato flesh with a spoon. Measure 200g of the sweet potato flesh with a kitchen scale

• Add the 200g of sweet potato, harina pan to a bowl and then pour lukewarm water and mix with a spoon. Once the water is incorporated into the dough start kneading for 2-3 minutes until obtaining a smooth malleable dough. If it feels dry and crackling add more water, 1 tbsp at a time. Cover it with a cloth and leave it to rest for 5min so the flour hydrates.

• Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and shape each into a ball with the palm of your hands. You can oil you hands with a bit of olive oil which will make working with the dough a bit easier. Flatten each bowl into a disk about 2cm thick. If the edges start cracking this means your dough doesn’t have enough water, transfer it back to the bowl and add water 1 tbsp at a time.

• To a frying pan, add some olive oil (optional) and bring to medium heat. Place your arepas and cook for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove from the pan and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes .

• For filling them with cheese use a serrated knife to cut the arepas in half making sure you don’t reach all the way until the bottom but just 3/4. The fill them in with as much mozzarella cheese as you want. Transfer them to a preheated oven at 180C for about 10min until the mozzarella melts completely. Remove them from the oven and enjoy while hot!

FAQS and Tips

• Getting the right dough consistency. After the dough has rested it should feel soft like playdough, but it shouldn’t stick to your hand as this indicates it is too wet. If it's too sticky, add more flour 1tbsp at a time until the dough is just dry enough.On the other hand, if you haven't added enough water, the dough will crack as you make the arepas. In this case, add 1tbsp more water at a time

• Once you’ve made the dough you can wrap it in cling film and store it in the fridge overnight until ready to use. If it looks a bit drier you can add some more water to the dough until obtaining the right consistency