arepas con queso

I bought the cookbook Cocina bsica colombiana by Carlos Ordᳱez Caicedo when I was in Bogot. This has been quite an education, since his definition of "bsica" is quite advanced. The arepa recipe tells you have to make arepas from scratch, starting with corn kernels! I bought a bag of Goya Masarepa mix and tried it out. It's easy and tasty, though not quite what I had when I was in Bogotᡡ. Actually, for the New Englanders out there, the results from this mix are quite similar to a jonnycake. The package suggests adding some grated mozzarella cheese to the mix. I haven't tried this, but perhaps you'll get something close to arepas con queso.

There is a cookbook called Secrets of Colombian Cooking (search online) for some good recipes. My husband has found several recipes that he wants to make. She does a pretty good job of giving substitutes for some of the hard to find ingredients. There is also one called Taste of Colombia but we only found it at Artisans Maku in Bogota (they have both the English and Spanish version). Andres had ordered if for me and after 18 months of it being on backorder in the US they finally cancelled the order...so Colombia may be your best resource.

When I lived in Ecuador the woman I stayed with was Colombiana and made THE BEST arepas. I know she didn't start from scratch, and she gave me her recipe but they don't taste the same. Let me rephrase that- they taste *awful* when I make them. I would LOVE a recipe!! Specifically, what is the harina that we use here in the states? I am sure that is why mine taste bad, though I have tried a lot of different types...

To get the good flour go to amigofoods.com they have columbia and Venzuelan Harnia Pan to make arepas or empandas with. With Arepas so easy get the right mix and add some salt and some butter mix with your hands into small round cirlces like a hamburger patty. Go on low-medium heat cut in half and add butter and cheese. good luck. Angela