If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably know all about my obsession with arepas by now – aka easy and delicious little South American corn flatbreads – and today I made such a fun and yummy version: super crispy mini arepas which you can have with dips instead of tortilla chips. π
They’re deep fried for that extra crispy texture, but of course you can pan fry them as well. I included the directions for both below, but surprisingly I found the deep fried version to be less oily. In my experience, pan fried arepas slowly soak up a lot of oil and you have to keep on adding more, leading to a soggier, oilier texture inside. So if this was a deciding factor for you, strangely enough I’d still recommend deep frying these.
You can also check out my standard arepas recipeΒ if you’re interested. They make the best sandwiches and are an absolute gluten free must if you haven’t tried them yet!
- 150g / 1 cup pre-cooked white cornmeal (I use P.A.N. which is the best and certified gluten free)
- ½ tsp salt
- Optional: ½ tsp turmeric (for colouring)
- 200-235g / about 1 cup of water
- 15g / 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Vegetable oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- Add the water, little by little, and mix well with a spatula until the dough starts to come together. This amount can vary depending on which cornmeal brand you use and whether you're using a scale or a cup to measure your flour. So add it slowly until it looks right (like in the picture collage above).
- Then add the olive oil and knead the dough with your hands until you have a smooth dough ball without cracks.
- Divide the dough into small portions, rolls them into balls with your hands and shape them into little patties, smoothing any imperfections around the edges.
- DEEP FRYING: heat your oil to 170C (338F) and fry each batch for about 4 minutes.
- PAN FRYING: cook your mini arepas on medium heat in a non-stick pan for a few minutes, until crispy on both sides.
- Then let your mini arepas rest on some kitchen towel to soak up any excess oil.
Oil temperature: 170C (338F)
Cooking time (per batch): about 4 mins
PAN FRYING:
Temperature: medium heat
Cooking time: a few minutes, until crispy on both sides
Enjoy!
π
Kimi x
