I lived in Miami for a few years while I attended college at Johnson and Wales University. It was my first time living in a large city and my first, real exposure to a ton of different types of cuisine. I was a really picky eater back then so it took me a while to try things, but I really liked different types of Latin food. I had grown up eating Mexican food, and it was similar but also different. One of my favorites quickly became arepas. 

I would crave arepas and made sure to eat them anytime I went back to visit Miami. There were a couple of places in Vegas that had them but I would forget so I rarely went. (ADHD does that to me, A LOT!) And to be honest, they just taste better in Miami. 

My friend Andrea, who is Colombian, and I had been talking about arepas and all the yummy Latin food that we missed now that we live in Tavira. I asked her if she would teach me how to make them. I don’t know why I never thought of learning before. I am a good cook and studied baking and pastry in school. I also have Colombian friends and even an ex-boyfriend who was too, and it never crossed my mind to learnšŸ¤¦ā€ā™€ļø. So anyway, Andrea was totally down to teach me.

Andrea and I

We made an evening of it with friends and made a ton of delicious arepas. Her and her husband made carnitas (pork) and Reina Pepiada (chicken mixed with avocado) for the stuffing. They were super easy to make and I wanted to kick myself for not learning sooner, I could have been eating them for the last 15 years and avoided going to MiamišŸ˜‚(I have bad luck when I go there, I need to stay away from that city.)Ā 

Finished Product!

Andrea gave me an ā€œAā€ by the way. So now I will be making them often!Ā 

How to Make Arepas

Use a ratio of 1 cup corn flour  to 1 Ā¼ cups water and a little salt to taste. Mix it all up by hand. Form into patties. Cook on a pan for about 5-7 min on one side until lightly browned. Flip. Spread a little butter and sprinkle some salt. Flip again when the other side is slightly browned, butter and salt again. Get both sides a little golden. 

Once slightly cooled you can cut them part way open to stuff. You can stuff them with anything. Or you can not cut them and put stuff on top. I think they are delicious with a fried egg and melted cheese on top. SO GOOD!!!! 

Check out Andreas blog at Colombianabroad.com and check out my instagram for my reel with more pics of the process.