Arepas

 Our daughter came home from her mission many years ago with a recipe for arepas. They are basically cornmeal buns.  The ingredients are simple: pre-cooked cornmeal (I used Pan), salt, and water. They are mixed together, formed into a bun shape then cooked in a little oil then baked to finish the cooking process. Slice them open after they have cooled. Fill with anything. 

We had sister missionaries over to eat lunch with us. One needed gluten free food.  Since I had planned sandwiches I made arepas.  We had barbecued pork as one filling and egg salad as another filling.  The sisters were kind and ate them and said nice things.

The arepas ready to be cooked.

Arepas Recipe

2 cups Pan cornmeal

2 1/2 cups hot water

1 teaspoon salt

The arepas are being cooked to give
them a nice crust.

Mix all ingredients together.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at least 5 minutes.  Divide into 8 pieces and form balls.  Flatten balls to about 1/4 inch thick and set on parchment paper or plastic wrap while your cast iron skillet heats up.  Put about 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil in the skillet.  When oil is  shimmering add the arepas in batches.  

The arepas on the left cooked 2 minutes on each side , the pretty ones  on the right cooked 3 minutes...

Cook 2-3 minutes on each side then place in oven at 350 degrees F. on a parchment lined pan for 15-18 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Split with a bread knife when cool.  

The arepas seemed to be a hit.

Next time I think I will cook all the arepas in the pan for 3 minutes per side,  or even more.  In the oven I will let them cook the 18 minutes instead of 15 minutes. I will also let them cool completely before splitting. In this case the sisters needed to eat an run so the arepas had not cooled very much.