Puerto Rican Arepas

Arepas are common amongst all Latin countries but I’m only from one and that’s Puerto Rico. 

Growing up on the island, my favorite food to eat on any occasion was Arepas. A couple years back, my grandpa came to stay with us to receive treatments for his cancer and while he was here, he taught me how to make them. Sadly grandpa passed away, but he left me with this little piece of our heritage to keep alive, it’s a really tasty piece of my heritage so that’s a win too!

There are different versions of arepas. Arepas can be stuffed with beans, meat, and cheese. They can be pan-fried or deep fried. Yeah….that’s just two but today I will show you how to make basic Puerto Rican Arepas. 

Ingredients  (Serving size; 8 maybe even 9)  

• 1 ¼ cup of flour
• ¼ cup of water
• ¼ cup of butter, softened   
• A pinch of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Vegetable or Olive Oil 

Steps 

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and sugar 
2. Once the butter is softened, cut it and mix it in with the flour and sugar until the mixture looks grainy (use your hands) 
3. Combine the salt and water 
4. Pour the saltwater into the flour mixture and knead it. 
5. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it looks like a ball
6. Oil a bowl and let the dough rest for a hour
7. After a hour, separate the dough into 8 or 9 balls
8. Heat up some oil in a pan 
9. Flatten out your dough balls into circles and put them into the pan
10. Let the sides fry for 1-2 minutes each or until light brown
11. Enjoy!