Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Rub a generous amount of salt and pepper to both sides of your steak. Serve immediately with your choice of fillings.ДЎ large ripened plantain, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces on a biasДЎ/2 of small wheel Queso Fresco, crumbledДў small green onions, julienned (green and whites) Immediately place the discs over your preheated panВ and cook the arepas for 5-7 minutes on each side or until lightly golden brown. If the dough is too soft add a little more of Harina P.A.N or more water if itвЂ™s too hard.ДЇorm dough balls and flatten them gently into discs until theyвЂ™re about 1/2-inch thick. The arepa dough should be firm but notВ cracking when formed. ThenВ add the oil to the dough, working the doughВ with your hands for about a minute. While youвЂ™re waiting, heat a non-stick griddle pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Allow the dough toВ rest 5 minutes to thicken up. Using your hands, mix the dough,В breaking any clumps with your fingers. With a whisk, mix until the salt and sugar is dissolved.В Slowly add in the Harina P.A.N. In a medium-sized bowl add the water, salt and sugar. Look for the вЂњP.A.NвЂќ as itвЂ™s very different from the harina used in pupusas and gorditas.) So I made my best attempt at recreating these delicate bellezasВ del cielo.ДЄrepa dough recipe slightly adapted from MommyhoodвЂ™s Diary blogДЈВ cupsВ Harina P.A.NВ (precooked white cornВ meal. I had long (actually not quite that long, more like a week after) daydreamedВ of my rather virginal Arepa experience, wanting more. The sweetness of the yellow corn v iuda (Spanish for вЂњwidowвЂќ referring to an unfilled arepa) is most excellent on its own, but when paired with the various fillings, it becomes this flavor explosion in your mouthвЂ“the sweetness from the viuda and plantain, the salty from the pabellГіn and queso fresco and the gentle acidity from the guasacaca.Every inch of your tastebuds are satisfied, wanting more and not knowing when, (or how) to stop. If such a heaven exists, I was definitely in it. I canвЂ™t even begin to describe how delicious the sweet corn, cake-like arepas, filled with hearty shredded beef pabellГіn, fried plantains, black bean purГ©e and queso fresco were. My awesome, longtime friend and hostess Amber, took me to this amazing Venezuelan restaurant in the Mission called Pica Pica Arepa Kitchen. While in the past IвЂ™ve enjoyed a Gordita or two or 10 ,В and have had quite the experience being a human pupuserГa, I hadnвЂ™t stumbled upon Arepas until my recent trip to San Francisco a few weeks ago. (Just ask a Venezuelan how their arepas compare to that of a ColombianвЂ™s, or vise-versa, and you will get strong disagreements from each party.) They all soundВ strikingly similar, but most will argue, are quiteВ different. Each are comprised of a corn flour-batter mix,В shaped into a disc,В fried in oil and stuffed with various fillings.

Pica pica arepa