- Hey, I'm John Kanell. And today on Preppy Kitchen, we're making easy, amazing arepas. So, let's get started. First off, I'm grabbing a wire rack, placing it on a baking sheet, and I'm gonna preheat my oven to 350, because we're gonna cook
these in a little bit of oil, but finish them in the oven. Now we need two and a half
cups of lukewarm water, 110 to 100 Fahrenheit. Our lukewarm water is
going into a large bowl. This recipe is so fun to make. If you've never made arepas before, they are so easy and the
most versatile thing ever. You can add any filling you like and it's gonna be delicious. One teaspoon of salt. Gonna use my fingers for this recipe, so make sure they're nice and clean. I'm gonna give this a little stir. And now I want two cups or 285 grams of pre-cooked cornmeal. Stir together with your fingers. This feels so good. It's like a spa day in the kitchen. Arepas are a very traditional dish. They actually date back
to pre-Columbian times. And they were made in Venezuela, Columbia, Panama, that whole area. And they became popular
way further than that as time moved on. Depending on where you are, they're filled with different things. So, they could be filled with various kinds of
meats, beans, cheese, like basically anything. Usually savory though. And you can let me know in the comments if you have some favorite
fillings for arepas. Did some stirring. I'm just doing this for fun
now, because it's totally done. But you can see we have like a soft Play-Doh-like
substance almost. Just going to pat that down so there's no stray bits hanging up. And this cornmeal has been precooked. So, what's gonna happen now
is the water will hydrate it. It just needs some time to sit. We're actually gonna cover them so they don't dry out on top and let them rest for 10 minutes. All the water will seep into
that pre-cooked cornmeal and they'll be so like
just amazing on the inside. If you watch this channel, you might see my lovely mother Rita pop in every once in a while. And you know she's from
Mexico and a wonderful cook. We grew up having tons
of delicious things, including these arepas. So, she actually loves
making fresh tortillas too, but these were a wonderful change of pace and they go with everything. You can add any kind of filling in and they are so easy and delicious. After 10 minutes or so, open it up and it looks exactly the same, but it's different because
everything is hydrated. So now grab a knife. And I'm gonna cut this
into eight pie pieces. Just cut it into quarters
and then have the quarters. Just like that. Super soft. We're gonna roll this into a ball and then pat it out into
a cute little patty. If you use the correct amount of masa, you'll have a wonderful,
soft dough like this, and you'll notice it's not cracking. Just pat it into a half-inch
thick patty like this. And we're gonna set that
aside and repeat for the rest. This is really fun for
kids with clean hands to help with, by the way. When I make these for Laughlin and George, they love having them with
cheese and beans on the inside. And George loves some tomatoes too. My last patty is all shaped up. They look gorgeous. And if you haven't made these guys before, think of them like an
alternative to a bun. So you're making these, they're gonna have a
crisp, beautiful exterior, a spongy interior that's
really satisfying. Anything you love can go in here. And as my friend told
me, he was from Panama. "The more you add in, the better it is." So overflowing, spilling out,
they're gonna be delicious. It's time for a quarter
cup of oil onto a pan. Could be cast iron or any
of your favorite pans. Place it over medium heat. And we want this oil to get nice and hot, so just take a look for some ripples. Once you see those, we're ready to place our arepas on there. You don't want those smoking hot though, because they will burn, and they need to have like
a gentle or medium heat. I am so happy with these
patties by the way. The last time I made this, I added a little bit too much cornmeal, or a little bit too little water. They had little cracks all over, which was bothering my Virgo feelings. Okay, my oil has beautiful ripples. It's not smoking, so I'm
gonna grab a spatula. And by the way, I placed
these on a sheet of paper, just because if you put them
directly on the wire rack, you get unsightly marks,
which I do not love. I'm gonna fry these up in batches. We're gonna cook these
until they're golden brown. They'll look really beautiful. And it's about four minutes of cook time, but it totally depends on your cooktop and the heat you have. You can move them around
every once in a while just to make sure they don't stick. And for all of my people
who are gluten sensitive, this is a really great recipe, because there's no flour in there, but you can still have like an alternative to a sandwich bread that's
kind of fun and new. It's like not your normal
one-to-one substitution. One thing that can really
disappoint in arepas is having to be so bland. So, when we added that
salt in, give it a taste. It's precooked cornmeal,
there's nothing to worry about. Just taste for the salt level, because that really affects a lot. If it's really bland, you're definitely gonna be disappointed. It's like, "Ugh, I'm
never making these again. "What a waste." But add a little more salt in them, you could add other spices if you want. It'll be really complementing whatever you're filling them with, or just be delicious on their own. Some people just like these with butter and that is delicious. Feels stiff on the bottom, so I know it's probably almost there. There we go. This needed something to act like a thumb. George has been on a
total quesadilla kick. So today for lunch, he's gonna
have some arepas con queso. So, we're gonna fill 'em up with cheese, and I'll see if he wants some
avocado and beans in them too. Add the next batch in. You might need to adjust your temperature 'cause your pan will get hot, and you don't want these guys to burn. They need a medium heat, so the inside can cook a bit as well. By the way, a little
browning is totally fine. It's almost what you want. So, if you want a little
bit more caramelization from that corn, they could be browner. If you want them on the
lighter side, that's fine too. This, I would say, is like
as light as they could be. They will brown up a little
bit more in the oven. These guys are something that
don't need constant attention. So, if you wanna work on some fillings, do some dishes, you can come back to them. Just keep an eye on them
every minute or two. If you're wondering why
these guys are called arepas, arepa is a word that means cornbread in the language spoken in the eastern coast
of Venezuela basically. It's the Cumanagoto language, but you can correct me on the
pronunciation in the comments, because I know that I
have to be butchering it. So, I'm sorry. These guys look like they're golden brown. We're gonna pop those
right onto our wire rack. So, all eight are completed. We're gonna bake these in the oven on the wire rack for 15 minutes at 350, pull them out and stuff 'em. These guys are out of the
oven and they smell amazing. But let them cool down just a bit, because they're still cooking. So, they're cooking out of the oven too. If you open them up right now, they'll be a little bit wet and you want them to
be spongy, but not wet. These have been cooling,
so I'm gonna cut one open. One of these guys is an
arepa con queso for George. He loves melted cheese. And you could even toss this
back into the oven to warm up. You could microwave it. You could broil the cheese a bit if you have a hand broiler like I do. And then I'm gonna show
you what it looks like. My easy arepa con queso is totally done. So quick. Beautiful cheese pull. George is gonna love it. But let me show you a couple
other combinations too. You can load these up. I'm gonna make another veggie one. So more cheese, some black beans, and a little avocado and cilantro, and a little bit more cheese. And then this is ready to enjoy. This is like a halfway loaded arepa. You can totally go crazy
and make them sky high. A little cheese on both sides. Some pulled pork for a Venezuelan vibe. Add some beans with a
little bit of avocado and some cilantro. We're gonna close that up. And this is some deliciousness. That is delicious. Oh my gosh. It's fried on the
outside, so it's so crisp, but soft on the inside. And with some cheese are
the delicious fillings, it's just about perfect. I hope you get a chance
to try this recipe. And if you like this video,
check out my Latin playlist.
