Arepas

An arepa with salsa and cheese.


An arepa in the frying pan.

Tonight, I made arepas. They're essentially a South American corn cake that are incredibly easy to make. Just combine equal amounts of masa (corn flour) and water (perhaps slightly more masa) with a little salt to make the batter. You're supposed to use masarepa (precooked masa), but I used masa harina and they turned out fine. Add a very small amount of oil to a pan and heat on high-medium-high heat. Drop the batter into the pan in ~4" rounds with ~1" thickness. Cook for 4 minutes per side, split open, and fill with whatever you like (I used salsa and cheese).