Arepas

These crispy-on-the outside/soft-on-the-inside biscuit-like discs deftly transition from breakfast to lunch any day of the week. Shown here with a white bean and avocado filling (recipe included) you can feel free to load these up with your favorite sweet or savory filling, instead.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: bread, Breakfast, Lunch

Cuisine: South American

Keyword: corn free arepas, dairy free, vegan gluten free arepas

Servings:

Calories: 496kcal

Ingredients

Arepas

2 cups cream of rice idli rava
1.5 cups warm water Up to 2 cups
1/4 cup olive oil For the batter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/3 cup frying oil for frying; 1 tbsp per arepa

White Bean and Avocado Filling

1 can white beans, any variety 1.75 cups
1 tbsp chopped / minced cilantro to taste
1 tbsp lemon juice to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt to taste
1 tsp cumin
2 avocados, peeled and cubed

Instructions

Dry Roast the Cream of Rice

Stove top: Preheat a heavy bottom skillet at medium heat. Add the dry cream of rice. Use a flat wooden or metal spatula to stir frequently to allow the granules to heat evenly. After a few minutes the cream of rice granules should start to become golden brown on the bottom layer. Keep stirring to evenly roast the cream of rice until it is fragrant and golden in color, about 10 minutes.
Oven: A more hands free option would be to bake the dry cream of rice on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 250 F in an oven until fragrant, about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
This step can be done a week or more in advance. To store the roasted cream of rice, cool to room temperature and transfer to a sealed container. Stored in a dry, cool location and use within a month.

Prepare the Arepa Batter

Combine the olive oil, baking soda, cream of tarter, salt, water and dry, room temperature roasted cream of rice in a high speed blender. Run for about 30 seconds to a minute. The consistency will be somewhere between thick cake batter and wet cookie batter.

Cook the Arepas

Preheat a heavy bottom skillet at medium heat.
Scoop the batter in ~1/3 cup increments. Shape into roughly half-inch thick patties and place onto the preheated skillet. I usually cook 2-3 at a time. Add 1 tbsp of oil per arepa (or more) and pan fry until golden on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until golden on the second side, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Let the arepas rest until cool enough to handle. Serve as-is, sliced in half like an english muffin, or pried open like a pocket. However you do it, these taste great topped or stuffed with a sweet or savory filling. For best results, serve immediately.

Prepare the Filling

Rinse and strain a 15 oz can of white beans (navy, cannelini, great northern, etc.), about 1.75 cups.
Place 1/2 the rinsed beans in a food processor with cumin, chopped cilantro, lemon juice, oil and salt to taste. Process until the mixture is as smooth and creamy as possible.
Combine the creamy bean mixture with the whole beans in a mixing bowl. Slice/cube an avocado into 1/2" pieces and add to the mixing bowl. Combine. Add any additional salt, lemon juice or black pepper to taste and set to the side.

Notes

Traditional arepas are made with pre-cooked corn flour called masarepa. To make these more traditionally, substitute the cream of rice with masarepa and skip the dry-roasting step (since masarepa is already pre-cooked :)). Combine all the ingredients in a bowl (using up to 2.25 cups of water) and and mix with a spatula, spoon or clean hands.

Cream of Rice can be found at most grocery stores. A coarser version of cream of rice, known as idli rava, can be found at Indian grocery stores and can be used in this recipe as well.

Dry roasting the cream of rice adds the most time to this recipe. Feel free to do this days or weeks in advance of actually making the arepas. Just be sure to cool the roasted cream of rice to room temperature, package it in a sealed container and store the dry, pre-cooked cream of rice in a dry, cool place for up to 1 month.

The smoother the batter, the more pliable the arepa. If the batter is feeling too sticky to shape into patties, moisten your hands with a little bit of water first. Do this as often as needed to shape the remaining patties.

Nutrition