Recipe: Vegan Arepas

Arepas are corn pancakes/bread that can be eaten in all kinds of ways. If I understood correctly, arepas are mostly eaten like a kind of sandwich in Colombia (so cut open the arepa and put stuffing inside), while in Ecuador I mostly got it as a kind of thick pancake with other things on top. 

Since I am vegan I try to find food that fills me up and gets me through a day of walking and sightseeing. This arepas recipe is perfect for this; it is super easy, very filling, healthy and most importantly super delicious. Of course, you can adjust the recipe to your liking, but here is the recipe the way I like it: 

Ingredients for one/two people: 

Arepas: 

• 1 cup arepa flour (in the Netherlands I can only find P.A.N. but other brands are masarepa and harina blanca. Just look for 'pre-cooked corn flour' and if you're in a Spanish speaking country just say 'harina para arepas?' which means 'flour for arepas?' and they will help you. 
• 1 1/4 cup warm-hot water 
• Pinch of salt
• One Tbsp vegetable oil (sunflower)
• Optional: other ingredients to add to the bread (I often add garlic or onion (small pieces) or paprika powder)

On the side: 

• 1 can brown beans or kidney beans (400gr)
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of corn
• 1 onion cut into small pieces
• 3 cloves of garlic cut into small pieces
• 2 diced tomatoes (optional)
• 1 avocado (optional)
• One tablespoon paprika powder 
• Chili (optional)
• Salt (optional)
• Oil

1. Cut the ingredients that you want to mix with the arepa flour into small pieces. 
2. Mix all the ingredients for the arepas. 
3. Knead until you get a ball of dough. 
4. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. 

1. Cook the onions in vegetable oil for about 3-5 minutes
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute
3. Now add the can of beans, corn and can of tomatoes (optional: chili & salt)
4. Turn to low heat and let it simmer 

5. Now shape the arepa dough to 1cm thick pancakes. You can choose the size depending on what you prefer. 
6. Bake the arepa in a good non-stick pan with enough oil and turn over when the bottom is golden-brown (you can also semi-fry them by adding a lot of oil and adding the arepa when the oil is hot)
7. Put the arepa on a plate, add the bean mix and add some fresh avocado and tomato pieces

ENJOY! :)