Arepas are Venezuela's national bread. They are made of pre-cooked corn meal, so they cook very fast. We eat arepas any time of the day, but especially in the mornings with fresh cheese and butter. Everybody has their special way of making them and all my friends says that the best Arepa in town is made by their respective mother. It's the equivalent to the Mexican tortilla. You can fill Arepas with almost anything, from cheeses, to any kind of meats (veggie meats in my case). "Perico" means parakeet and it's our way to say scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions. In the breakfast is often served along side the arepas. I will make some other recipes of vegetarian fillings for the arepas, like veggie Latin American "ground" meat or black beans. For now enjoy our family's favorite breakfast: Arepas con Perico. 
Arepas
- 2 1/2 cups of warm mater
- 2 cups of PAN corn meal (It's has a distinctive yellow package, and is found in most Latin American groceries stores)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- 1 tablespoon butter (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large bowl mix the water, salt and oil. Add the corn meal slowly in a steady stream, mixing constantly with a spoon so you don't get any lumps. Knead the dough until smooth, here I like to add a tablespoon of butter, but that is optional. Knead a little bit more and form balls, about 2 to 3 inches wide, then flatten the balls into discs. Heat a cast iron pan, or any frying pan, and sear the arepas for a few minutes on each side (this will form a nice crust) then transfer the arepas to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve immediately with butter, cheese and Perico (recipe follows).
Perico
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 roma tomato (depending on their size) diced.
- 5 eggs, lightly beaten
- salt to taste
Cook the onion and tomato in the oil for about 10 minutes over medium heat until translucent. Add the beaten eggs and salt. Finish cooking until the eggs are cooked trough (if you take them out of the heat just before they're done, when they're still creamy, they will end up perfect). Enjoy with the arepas.
Comments