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Arepa santandereana
Corn cassava arepa with pork crackling
Arepa santandereana: Santander's corn and cassava arepa with crisp pork crackling in the dough
Bakeries and breakfast counters in Bucaramanga and Socorro sell a different kind of arepa from the soft white rounds of Bogotá: yellow, made with corn and cassava and studded with bits of crunchy pork chicharrón, cooked slowly on a griddle until a thick, chewy crust forms. The traditional dough is ground from cooked dry corn, but precooked yellow maize flour with mashed cassava gets you close at home. It is savoury and a little smoky, and goes with eggs and hot chocolate at breakfast or with carne oreada at lunch. Dough that's too dry is the common fault: it cracks around the edges as it cooks, so knead in water until it feels like soft play dough. Chef's tip: cook the arepas slowly over a medium-low heat; the cassava needs time to turn chewy inside while the outside builds a golden crust.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the chicharrón
- 9 oz pork belly, skin oncut into 2 cm strips
- 1 ¼ cups water
For the dough
- 9 oz cassava (yuca)peeled, cut into chunks, woody core removed
- 10 ½ oz precooked yellow cornmeal (masarepa)harina de maíz precocida
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups warm waterapproximately
- 1 tbsp sunflower oilfor the griddle
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz pork belly, skin on and 1 ¼ cups water in a frying pan and boil over a medium-high heat for 20–25 minutes, until the water evaporates. Keep frying in the rendered fat for 10 minutes, until crisp and golden (well over 160°F). Drain, cool and chop very finely. Keep 1 tbsp of the fat.
35 minStep 2: Boil 9 oz cassava (yuca) in salted water for 20–25 minutes, until very tender. Drain, remove any fibres and mash until smooth.
25 minStep 3: In a large bowl, mix 10 ½ oz precooked yellow cornmeal (masarepa) and 1 ½ tsp salt. Add the mashed cassava, the chopped chicharrón and the reserved pork fat, then work in 1 ¼ cups warm water a little at a time, kneading for 3 minutes until soft, smooth and not cracking at the edges.
8 minStep 4: Divide into 8 balls and flatten each into a disc about 1.5 cm thick and 10 cm wide, smoothing the edges with wet fingers.
8 minStep 5: Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan over a medium-low heat and brush with 1 tbsp sunflower oil. Cook the arepas for 8–10 minutes a side, until a thick golden crust has formed and they sound hollow when tapped. Serve hot.
20 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arepa santandereana take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
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