camila´s blog: representative dish from Colombia

AREPAS

Although Colombia is not well known worldwide for its cuisine. the country has some delicious traditional foods. Each region of Colombia, meanwhile, has its own individual dishes.

Now I will tell you about a specific one Arepas are the most common traditional dish in Colombia and is served as an accompaniment or as a meal in itself, they are served in almost all Latin America and part of Central America but in Colombia they have their own original type. According to the Colombian Academy of Gastronomy, the arepa is part of our cultural heritage and can considered a symbol of national gastronomic unity.

one of the most delicious preparations is the arepa de huevo
The ingredients is:
  1 pound of cornmeal
1 liter of sunflower oil for frying
 5 units of Eggs
1 teaspoon salt
 Water
1 stick of Margarine

In Colombia, this delicacy enjoyed at different times of the day and in 75 varieties, which shows its versatility and the range of options offered by the gastronomic culture of the country as well as the cultural expressions of each region that reflected in the preparation of innovative recipes based on arepa. The arepas can be of various varieties, including the arepas de choclo (made from sweet corn and stuffed with cheese), the arepas con queso (stuffed with cheese) and the arepas de arroz (a fried arepa with a cracked egg inside and then refried). Each region of Colombia has its own traditional way of eating and making arepas. Also known as coastal arepas. Few people dareto do them because they need great technique. Also to having coastal cheese and meat inside, they add a raw egg to the precooked arepa and then fry it to unite all the flavors inside.



Now you will ask yourself, what are the steps?

1. To make the arepas base mass, take the corn flour for arepas to a bowl.

2.Take the necessary water, according to the instructions on the flour package, to a pot and heat together with the butter until it melts. Mix well.

3.Pour the hot water over the flour and let it rest for approximately 10 minutes

4. Knead with your hands until the dough has a firm consistency and make medium balls as seen in the photograph.

5. Crush the balls forming the arepas, you can

do it with your hands or help yourself with a plate. The idea is that they have the shape seen in the photograph.

6.Hold a deep pot over medium heat and add the liter of sunflower oil. We must bear in mind that we must add each arepa alone and when the oil is very hot, this is what our arepa will inflate during cooking and we must remove the oil.

7.Apart, very add the egg in a bowl trying not to break the yolk.

8. With great care and without burning we make an opening on the side of the fried arepa. We introduce the egg and close with a little more dough. Then we put the arepa back in the pot with oil to finish frying and cook the egg.