Many people in the United States think that food south of the border is just Mexican or Tex-Mex, but South American countries have their own culture which is vastly different from that of Mexico. Arepas are a traditional Venezuelan/Colombian snack you can cook using ingredients that are probably already in your kitchen.
Instructions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix pre-cooked corn flour, a small amount of salt and water in a bowl.
3. Scoop out 1 cup of flour for each person and add 1cup of water for each cup of flour.
4. Add some salt and mix with the flour and water until it becomes soft and doughy. Knead the dough until ingredients are uniform and the dough looks good. Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest for approximately five minutes. Some recipes call for pepper as well as salt.
5. Heat a flat griddle or frying pan and put a little bit of oil on it so that the arepa will have a little bit of a crust once it is put in the oven.
6. Take some of the dough (about the size of a baseball) and make it in to the roundest ball you can make.
7. Press the dough together so that it becomes almost flat.
8. Put the flattened pieces of dough on to the griddle and form a crust on both sides of the dough with the oil. Once they all have thin crusts on both sides, put them in the oven.
9. Put the pieces of dough in the oven for 20 minutes. To test them, tap them softly. If it sound like they are hollow inside, then they are ready. If not, put them back in the oven for a few more minutes.
Tags: both sides, pieces dough
