Cheese Arepas

Lavender Lynn's Note:

This recipe is from Venezuela. It is from recipes4us.co.uk. It is posted for ZWT4.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 10 fluid ounces warm water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces masa harina flour
• 4 ounces manchego cheese , grated (pecorino romano can be substituted)
• oil , for shallow frying
• 1 avocado , peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tomatoes , thinly sliced
• 16 black olives , pitted and halved

Directions:

1. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and gradually add the warm water, mixing to form a stiff dough.
2. Add the cheese and knead the dough for a few minutes then form into 4 balls.
3. Flatten the balls to a thickness of about 1/2 inch.
4. Heat oil in a large frying pan.
5. Add the arepas and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp and golden, turning 3 or 4 times.
6. Drain on kitchen paper.
7. To Serve - split the arepas in half, place on serving plates and garnish with avocado, tomato slices and olives.

Reviews

[realbirdlady]

Easy to make, and good to eat. I used romano. The dough can be made a little ahead of time, and prepared as needed. This is a hearty bread, so it's good if you're working and need energy, but smaller serving sizes might be more suitable on a more sedentary day.

[CraftScout]

OMG OMG OMG! This is too easy to be this good. I have made pupusas before, and they are good, but you need to have been making them since birth to make them right, I think. THESE I made right the first time. Or at least they looked good, they tasted delicious, and I had NO problems getting them made. The manchego was really nice, and I really enjoyed stacking the arepas with tomato slices and avocado slices - yum! I made a half batch, which made 15 crunchy little arepas, plenty for me, my roommie, and my two kids. I ended up turning them a total of four times, at about 3-4 minutes each time, and they came out perfect, golden with some darker spots of brown, but no burning.