Recipe: Arepas

makes about a dozen arepas

1 cup white or yellow cornmeal, finely ground

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen sweet corn kernels

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or chicken fat

Combine:

1/4 cup chopped scallion

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco

1 small serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

For serving:

Cooked black beans (See Frijoles de olla)

Sour cream

1. Put cornmeal in a large bowl with salt. Put milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until steam rises, then add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir into the cornmeal until a thick batter is formed. Fold in the corn kernels.

2. Let batter rest until it thickens into a soft dough, about 15 minutes. Gently form 3- to 4-inch balls from mixture and flatten with palm of your hand to a 1/2-inch-thick disk. (You can cover and refrigerate disks for a few hours if you like.)

3. Heat oil in a comal or large skillet and cook arepas, working in batches, until golden brown, about 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes on other side. When all arepas are cooked and cool enough to handle, carefully slice them through the middle. Fill each with the herb-cheese-chili mix. Serve with black beans and sour cream, if desired.

Adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman of the New York Times

Recipe: Frijoles de olla/Pot of beans

2c dried beans

1-2 medium yellow onion, chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped fine

2 bay leaves

Black pepper

Sea salt

This basic bean recipe is good for pinto, black, red kidney, white kidney (cannellini), great northern, navy, adzuki and small red beans. Add whatever seasonings you prefer. Cumin, oregano, smoked paprika and dried Cascabel or ancho chiles are some of my favorite flavorings. Salt to taste at the end of cooking to avoid toughening the skins.

Pick through and rinse the beans and then soak them overnight in cold water to cover by about four inches.

The next day, drain and rinse the beans and place them in a heavy-bottomed pot, cover with water by about two inches. Bring to a boil uncovered and skim off the foam. When the beans stop producing foam stir in the vegetables and seasonings. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until beans are tender, adding water as necessary. Depending on the type and age of the dried beans this will take between one and three hours; red kidney beans sometimes take longer.

Copyright 2008 Martine Torres-Apónte de Pèlegrin