Arepa Con Queso

Arepa Con Queso are round corn cakes made with cooked corn flour, mixed with cheese, milk and butter, and then filled with more cheese as a filling in the centers.

Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snacks

Cuisine Columbian, Venezuelan

Keyword Arepas

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 10

Servings

Calories 240kcal

Author sanna

Equipment

1 Griddle This is what I use. (Affiliate)

Ingredients

2 cups masarepa can be white or yellow. I use 50/50 because I like the resulting color. See note 1
1½ tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp softened butter
2 cups shredded mozzarella divided
½ cup milk
1 ½-2 cups water

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups masarepa, 1½ tsp salt and2 tsp sugarWhisk to incorporate. Add 2 tbsp softened butter and ½ cup milk Stir until distributed.
Add 1 cup of water. Stir it in until the ingredients are moistened. Then, add more water gradually about 2 tbsp at a time, until a soft dough is formed. You may not need the entire 2 cups of water. The dough should not be dry that you see powders present nor too wet, that it cannot hold a shape. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes, to let the mixture absorb more moisture.
Line a baking pan with parchment. Using your hands, form a big ball with the dough and knead briefly to smoothen it. Divide the dough into 8 portions, You can do this right in the bowl, or on top of a parchment paper on a clean kitchen surface.
Shape each portion into a ball, then use your palms to flatten it into a ¼ inch thick disc. Spoon about a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese in the center. Fold the dough over the center to form a smooth ball, encasing the cheese in the center as a filling. Lastly, flatten the ball once more with your palms into a ¼-½ inch thick disc. Repeat with the rest of the portions and arrange them on the parchment lined baking pan. Have a moist towel by your side to wipe your hands in between. This can be sticky/messy.
Preheat your flat griddle or a wide non-stick pan. Once hot, use a flat spatula to place the arepas into the pan. Cook until lightly toasted and golden, and some cheese filling is oozing out. Then flip to cook the other side. This does not take long. It may take more or less a minute per side. Adjust the heat as you go along, judging by how fast the arepas becomes toasty.
Enjoy warm. To serve leftovers, briefly heat them in the pan or griddle until warmed and the cheese filling is showing signs of oozing out.

Notes

Masarepa is not the same as corn meal or any regular corn flour. Looked for pre-cooked corn flour in the label. The brand I used is PAN. It comes in yellow and white. You can use either or a combination of both. I used 50/50 because I like the resulting color, a bit yellow but not too saturated.

The dough is ready when the texture is like a soft playdough. Not dry that you see streaks of powder, but not too sopping wet that it cannot hold its shape. I like to lean more on the softer/ wet side for a more cakey arepa.

Nutrition