Easy Colombian cheese arepas, perfect for breakfast or a snack. These cheese and corn griddle cakes are delicious and easy to make. These are the traditional Columbian breakfast. Find out more @TastyAZ on instagram.
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00:00 Hey, what's for breakfast this morning?
00:02 Isabel from Tasty AZ has an idea
00:04 that you've probably never heard of,
00:07 but she says it might become your new go-to.
00:09 Welcome.
00:10 - Thank you for having me.
00:11 And today we are gonna make Colombian arepas.
00:15 - Arepas.
00:16 - Yes.
00:17 - Okay.
00:17 - These ones in particular are gonna be filled with cheese.
00:20 - Nice.
00:21 - So they are gonna be nice and cheesy,
00:23 but you can definitely make them vegan,
00:25 have no cheese on them, and you can top them,
00:28 like I did here with some Colombian Creole sauce
00:32 called Ogao.
00:33 We have some avocado and some pickled onions.
00:37 - It looks gorgeous.
00:39 And you're saying it's very easy to make
00:41 and you can even make it with kids.
00:43 Three ingredients.
00:44 - Yes.
00:45 So all we need is some pre-cooked corn flour.
00:48 - Okay.
00:49 - You'll find this at any good supermarket
00:52 with a Hispanic aisle.
00:54 - Okay, nice.
00:55 - It's right there.
00:56 And all you need is mix that with a cup of water.
01:00 - Okay.
01:01 - So one cup of flour.
01:02 - One cup flour, one cup water.
01:03 - And one cup cheese.
01:05 - And cheese, and you don't even have to include the cheese.
01:07 - And you don't even have to include it.
01:08 - That is easy.
01:10 - Yep, and then we just mix, mix, mix.
01:12 - Okay, get your little spatula out there.
01:15 What makes Colombian food different from,
01:17 I know it's Hispanic Heritage Month
01:19 and we're celebrating food from various Latin cultures.
01:22 What makes Colombian food different?
01:24 - We have a lot of different regions in Colombia
01:27 and we have like a melting pot of cultures.
01:31 We have African people come to Colombia during colonization.
01:35 We have Lebanese people going there in like the mid 1900s.
01:40 So it's a very rich culture
01:43 and you'll find different things all over the place.
01:46 If you're in the coast, you're gonna eat a lot of fish.
01:49 - Nice.
01:49 - Coconut rice, plantains, very Caribbean.
01:52 - Yeah, I was just thinking that.
01:53 - Yes, and this is from Medellin, where I'm from,
01:56 and it's up in the mountains.
01:58 So kind of isolated.
02:00 People had to work with what they had.
02:02 So lots of corn, beans, rice.
02:06 So a lot of different things.
02:09 - And in your blog,
02:10 you write about all kinds of Latin cuisine.
02:13 - Yes, right now I'm going through a series
02:15 celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month,
02:17 doing a series of Argentinian recipes.
02:19 You'll find the chimichurri, achoripan, dulce de leche,
02:23 lots of Colombian recipes and even American recipes
02:27 and giving them a little Latin twist.
02:29 - A little twist, a little flair.
02:30 So you stir this up.
02:31 - Yeah, and you just like knead it a little bit.
02:34 Let it rest.
02:35 - Oh, you gotta let it rest.
02:37 - You gotta let it rest for a little bit.
02:37 - Oh, okay, so this is resting.
02:39 - Yes.
02:40 - And this is what it looks like.
02:41 - And you will end up with something like a playdough.
02:45 - Oh, okay, here, show that.
02:46 So this is like a playdough.
02:48 You can mold it and then you can grill it.
02:51 - Yes, and it's gonna be really soft,
02:53 kind of sticky, but not too much.
02:56 And we're gonna make little balls.
02:58 Like depending on how--
02:59 - Okay, can I make one?
02:59 - Yeah, absolutely.
03:01 Depending on how much, how big you wanna make them.
03:04 These are perfect for like an appetizer.
03:06 - These are so cute.
03:08 And I could see kids loving this for breakfast.
03:10 If you wanted to put different toppings on it,
03:12 if your kids weren't like fancy enough for these,
03:15 what else could you top it with?
03:18 - Some people do meat, some people do chicken.
03:22 - Could you go sweet, like a Nutella and banana?
03:24 - Yes, actually, these cheese ones,
03:28 some people like to top, and let's flatten it.
03:31 - Flatten it.
03:31 - Yeah, so here we're gonna use like two, right?
03:35 And this one goes on top.
03:37 - Oh, you made a little sandwich.
03:38 - Yeah, and you just like--
03:40 - That's cute.
03:41 - Stick the cheese in there.
03:43 - Okay, you close the edges.
03:44 - Yep, griddle them.
03:45 And you don't need to be perfect.
03:47 - Okay, good, good.
03:48 - They are very forgiving.
03:50 - Good, good.
03:51 - So now grab a little bit of cheese.
03:53 - Put a little cheese.
03:54 Put it in the middle, and you make a little sandwich here.
03:57 - Yep, close the edges.
03:58 - I'm glad you said it didn't have to be perfect.
03:59 - Oh no, they don't.
04:00 - I took you to heart on that.
04:01 - They are super forgiving.
04:03 No, that looks perfect.
04:04 - And do you have any tips for grilling it?
04:06 - You can use a cast iron skillet,
04:10 or something like nonstick.
04:12 If you're doing them with kids,
04:14 it's a lot easier to do them in a nonstick pan.
04:19 But if you are fancy and wanna make them authentic,
04:23 because they are usually made on an open fire.
04:25 - Right, okay.
04:26 - So you wanna use a cast iron, yeah.
04:29 But these are super easy.
04:31 Anybody can make them.
04:32 - Tell me the name again.
04:33 - Arepas.
04:34 - Arepas.
04:35 - And they became really popular
04:37 because of the Disney movie Encanto.
04:40 - Oh, yes, okay, so the characters eat these?
04:43 - Yes, that's what they eat.
04:44 People, it's like a bread, kind of.
04:47 And people refer to them as the Colombian bread.
04:50 - Should I try it?
04:50 - Go for it.
04:51 - But how am I gonna throw us to commercial?
04:52 - It's so good.
04:53 - Oh my gosh, coming up.
04:54 Isabel, thank you so much.
04:55 By the way, find some more of her recipes at Tasty AZ.
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