Arepas... from scratch!

Attempt #3: Getting closer!

Arepas are a Venezuelan specialty that's usually made up of grilled corn flour bread, meat, and cheese. They have intrigued me ever since the Arepa Republic food truck drove by my bus stop last spring. And since then, I had been eyeing them, my interest piqued.

When I found out that the food truck was going to be at Many Feathers (a farmers market in Mississauga), I gathered my people (aka my mom and sister) to check them out. And while many would have shied away from the 45-minute wait, we bided our time and weren't disappointed. 

The Rumbera

I ordered the rumbera, and it was so good. The arepa was warm and toasty, the pulled pork was well-seasoned, and the cheese... Well, that was just an added bonus.

Pabellón Veggie

My sister ordered the pabellón veggie, which I got to try on a separate occasion. It too was delicious. As a lover of all things sweet and salty, I really enjoyed the combination of fried plantains, beans, avocado, and cheese. It was just right up my alley on so many levels.

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Brian and I decided we would recreate the quintessential Venezuelan dish at home, from the arepa itself all the way to the filling. I found a recipe for the rumbera and the original pabellón (shredded beef vs. avocado) and sent them over to Brian so he could choose which one he preferred. I, on the other hand, had the whole house to feed, which was a perfect opportunity to try out both. 

Pulled pork in the making

Brian ended up choosing the rumbera, so we started with the filling portion of that recipe, which wasn't all too complicated. The bulk of the work was in the preparation; the rest of it was sautéing and waiting for the meat to cook. In the meantime, I worked on the pabellón filling, which followed a similar flow.  

Delicious smelling onions

The beef: ready for four hours in the slow cooker

While I was working on the beef, the aroma of the pulled pork penetrated my congested nose. "It smells good," I remember thinking. But my more experienced mother knew better and told me to check. Lo and behold, all the juices of the pork had boiled away, and the bottom of the pan was staring to burn. I quickly added a cup of water to the pork, hoping that it didn't dilute the flavour too much.

I didn't screw it up too much...

By the time I finished seasoning the pabellón filling, it was time to start working on our arepas. We used a Serious Eats recipe, which called for either white or yellow corn flour. Brian was able to get the former and I the latter, which would later yield white and yellow arepas, respectively. 

Getting my dough on

Like the filling, the arepa recipe seemed simple enough, though Brian and I both agree that the proportions were a little off. We needed to add more water than what was listed to get the consistency right. 

For some extra oomph, I added some feta cheese to my arepa dough and proceeded with the next step of the recipe, which was to fry the arepas in butter and oil. 

Before

After

They cooked just fine, although mine looked a little discoloured, a not-so-subtle reminder that I need to clean my cast iron pans a bit better or that I should watch the butter. We finished the arepas off in the oven, made a small slit in the middle of each one, and filled them with our now cooked pulled pork, some shredded cheese, and fresh cilantro. 

Ta-da!

For a first attempt, I think my rumbera arepas turned out okay. Although they looked NOTHING like the arepas of Arepa Republic, they were cooked through and had a delicious crispiness to them. And even though I almost burnt the pulled pork in the cooking process, it still managed to be tasty in the end. 

Brian's arepas turned out okay too: He thought they were quite tasty. :) However, he did say his arepas probably needed more time to crisp up on the pan, and based on what he's told me, more water as well to stay cohesive. 

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I finished off the pabellón recipe the following evening: I reheated the beef, cooked the plantains in brown sugar and butter, grated some mozzarella cheese, took out some black beans, and put everything together. 

Mmmmore meat 

Attempt #2: Better! 

Any recipe with plantains is already good for me!

And they were a hit, especially with my dad, for the same reasons I liked Arepa Republic's version: They were a little sweet, a little salty, a little crunchy, and a little gooey, all in one bite. The meat could have used a bit more seasoning; otherwise, it was practically perfect. With that said, my sister preferred the rumbera. She liked the cilantro and thought that the pulled pork was tastier than the beef.  

Pabellón, por favor!  

I had four leftover arepas that I cooked the Monday after our cooking date. If you scroll all the way to the top of this post, you'll notice that they have definitely improved from my first attempt! They had the grill marks and everything. I was quite proud of how far they had come. :D

Will we be making arepas again? You betcha.

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Cook's tip: I had no trouble finding the right cut of pork and beef, thanks to Seafood City (800 Boyer Blvd, Mississauga). They had a surprisingly good selection for prices that are comparable to Metro and Superstore.