Arepa con queso
Corn cakes with cheese
Thick Andean white-corn arepas with melted cheese and butter
In the Andean cities of Bogotá, Medellín and the coffee region, breakfast very often means an arepa: a thick, griddled round of white corn dough, split or topped with butter and melting fresh cheese. This Colombian arepa con queso has cheese kneaded into the dough as well as on top, so it comes out soft and steamy inside with a crisp, freckled crust. Serve it with hot chocolate, aguapanela or eggs scrambled with tomato and spring onion (huevos pericos). Chef's tip: the dough should feel like soft play dough; if the edges crack when you flatten a ball, it needs a splash more warm water.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- ⅔ oz buttermelted
- 3 ½ oz mozzarella or queso campesinograted
To cook and serve
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 oz buttersoftened
- 3 ½ oz mozzarella or queso campesinosliced
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 8 ½ oz precooked white cornmeal (masarepa) and ¾ tsp salt in a bowl. Pour in 1 ½ cups warm water and ⅔ oz butter and stir, then knead with your hand for 2 minutes until smooth and soft.
Step 2: Rest the dough for 5 minutes so the cornmeal can drink up the water, then knead in 3 ½ oz mozzarella or queso campesino.
Step 3: Divide into 4 balls. Press each between your palms, or between two sheets of baking paper, into a round about 1.5 cm thick and 10 cm across. Smooth any cracks at the edges with a wet finger.
Step 4: Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over a medium heat and brush with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Cook the arepas until a golden, slightly blistered crust forms and they release easily, 6–7 minutes per side.
14 minStep 5: Tap one: it should sound hollow. The common mistake is cooking on high heat, which burns the outside while the middle stays raw and pasty.
Step 6: Spread the hot arepas with 1 oz butter and top with 3 ½ oz mozzarella or queso campesino so it melts. Serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arepa con queso take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Doi chiraFlattened rice with curd
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi
Sabudana khichdiSago with peanuts and potato
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
BsissaRoasted barley flour with olive oil
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian