My Favourite Colombian Arepa Recipe

I'm back and refreshed after our trip to Colombia! We spent one week in Bogota and then another week on San Andres, a Colombian island in the Caribbean ~ pure bliss.

I've shared a few recipes from South America before, but none as good as this one. This is one of my favourite thing to eat when we're there: Arepa de Choclo. It's like a thick pancake made from sweetcorn. There are many different types of arepa in Colombia, but the choclo one wins the contest for me, especially when served with cheese! Gluten-free and not too high in fat (unless you pile it with cheese!), this is a quick and relatively healthy dish, which works well as a main course, accompaniment or even a snack.

So this time, I asked M's Mum to show me exactly how it's done...

Arepa de Choclo

Ingredients
2 corn cobs
1 tbs milk
1 tbs oil
2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs melted butter
1 egg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of baking powder

Instructions
1. Remove the corn from the cobs & place in a blender

2. Add the oil, sugar, milk, salt & baking powder

 3. Crack in the egg & pour in the melted butter

 

 4. Blend until smooth

5. Add the mixture to a hot, oiled pan, one ladle per arepa

6. Keep cooking the first side until the edges of the arepa are brown & firm, then flip it over like you would a pancake

7. When you think it should be evenly cooked on both sides, test the inside using a knife to see if the mixture has set right through

 8. When you're happy, turn out on a plate, add cheese, fold over and EAT!!!

Claire