Arepas & Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado
What are Arepas?
Arepas are cornmeal cakes that originated hundreds of years ago in a region that now makes up Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama. Traditionally, they were cooked on a pan called a budare. But they can also be grilled, baked, or fried.
Venezuelan arepas tend to be smaller and thicker, while Colombian arepas tend to be sweeter, thinner, and stuffed with cheese.
Arepas & Cherry Tomatoes with Avocado
* Makes approximately 4 small arepas * Ingredients
1 cup - Don Arepa - arepa mix
1 cup - warm water
1 tbsp - olive oil
1/2 tsp - salt
1/4 tsp - adobo seasoning ( optional )
2 tbsp - grapeseed oil for frying
1/2 - yellow onion sliced or julienned
1 pint container of cherry tomatoes or 300 grams
3 tbsp - minced garlic
1 tbsp - grapeseed oil
2 tbsp - vegan butter
1/4 cup - lemon juice
1/2 tsp - salt
1 tbsp - soy sauce
1/2 tbsp - vegan butter
1/4 cup - chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 - an avocado sliced
Instructions
Step 1 - Gather all ingredients & make the arepa dough
There is nothing worse than going to make something and realizing you don’t have the stuff !
Grab a large bowl for the arepas along with a measuring cup and a medium sized sauté pan for the sauteed tomatoes. In the large bowl measure out the don arepa mix, salt, and adobo seasoning. In a measuring cup measure out the water and oil and then pour it around and over the mix. Typically with my left hand I will hold the bowl still and mix the dough around with my right hand until the dough forms a firm ball. For 1 cup of arepa mix you can typically make 4 smaller sized arepas.
Step 2 - Sear the arepas
Warm up the medium sized saute pan and add some grapeseed oil, I like to use grapeseed oil because of its high spoke point. Once the pan is hot add 2 arepas and allow them to cook and sear until golden brown along the edges and then flip. After flipping, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to a medium low to allow them to cook internally a bit while the bottom of the arepa gets a nice sear.
Step 3 - Chop the veggies and saute
Slice up half an onion and mince up some garlic and heat up a sauté pan. I used the same one I cooked the arepas in as it was ready to go. Plop in the onions and saute them on medium heat in some oil and vegan butter, I like to do a little bit of both. Cook them till golden and then add in the cherry tomatoes and let this cook on a lower medium heat stirring here and there.
Once the tomatoes have started to blister I season them with a little bit of salt and I add a touch more of butter, maybe 1/2 a tablespoon and add in the garlic. Stir well to allow everything to combine and cook together. I let this cook for maybe 3 minutes and then drizzle over the soy sauce, stirring here and there until the tomatoes have started to make a jammy saucy texture with the softened onions and garlic. To finish pour over and stir in the lemon juice and turn off the heat. Allow the heat of the pan to bring everything together.
Step 4 - Plate
To plate and dress up the arepas, I like to put 2 arepas per serving since these are a bit on the smaller side and spoon over the sauteed tomatoes and top with some sliced avocado, chopped cilantro and flakey salt.
