Authentic Colombian cheese arepas with all the fixings
Naturally gluten-free, Authentic Colombian cheese arepas are little golden pockets of corn flour and delicious Jarlsberg cheese that will melt in your mouth with each bite. Cook them on a griddle and top them up with your favourite South American fixings - avocado, tomato, onions, more corn and a couple of delicious salsas - and feel the deliciousness of gooey-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside fried Colombian cheese arepas.Serve with my pico de gallo: https://immigrantstable.com/2018/05/03/authentic-colombian-pico-de-gallo-v-gf-paleo/Serve with my aji hot sauce: https://immigrantstable.com/2018/05/18/spicy-colombian-aji-the-best-hot-sauce/
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
Colombian cheese arepas:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 cup pre-cooked white or yellow arepa flour also known as masarepa - Goya and P.A.N are common brands in North America
- 1 cup Jarlsberg cheese grated
- 1 tbsp oil
- Pinch salt
Toppings:
- ¼ cup Jarlsberg cheese grated
- 1 ripe avocado sliced
- ½ pint of cherry tomatoes cut in half
- ½ red onion diced finely
- Fresh cilantro chopped finely
- Green onion sliced into thin circles
- ½ cup of Colombian pico de gallo (https://immigrantstable.com/2018/05/03/authentic-colombian-pico-de-gallo-v-gf-paleo/#.W1nU09JKhPY, or your favourite salsa)
- ⅛ cup of Colombian aji (https://immigrantstable.com/2018/05/18/spicy-colombian-aji-the-best-hot-sauce/, or your favourite hot sauce)
Instructions
- To make arepas: Pour water into large bowl. Add arepa corn flour, salt, oil, ½ cup of Jarlsberg cheese, and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover with a towel and let dough rest for five minutes.
- Working with moist hands, remove about 3 tbsps worth of dough and flatten them between your palms. Add 1 tbsp of cheese in the middle, and top with a handful more dough, gently pressing to seal the cheese inside and form a patty about ¼ inch thick. If you’re after those perfectly shaped arepas, place each arepa ball between 2 sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and flatten them to ¼ inch with a heavy cast iron pan. Repeat until you’re out of dough and cheese, transferring prepared arepas to a large platter.
- Preheat your budare (special arepas pan), griddle or cast iron pan to high heat. Season with oil or butter. Place the arepas in the pan and cook about 5 minutes on each side, until you achieve golden-brown colour and a beautiful char in spots.
- To serve arepas, cut them in half and put your favourite toppings inside. Drizzle with Colombian pico de gallo and aji.