The traditional recipe is instant cornmeal, salt and boiling water, fried on a dry griddle and baked in a hot oven until they sound hollow when tapped.  IMUSA has an electric arepa maker that browns and bakes them in about 10 minutes depending upon their thickness.  The Imusa Arepa Maker can be found at Target stores and Amazon.com.  They’re also available direct from Imusa.

There is not much flavor to arepas but they’re terrific as a slider with meat, cheese, and veggies or as a breakfast biscuit with honey and butter.  Quick, easy and cheap arepas can be served for game night, cocktail parties or whenever you need a quick bread for chile, soups or stews.  You can make the patties as large as desired but 3-inches to 4-inches is the norm.  Add fresh herbs and cheese to the dough for a savory version or sugar and spices for a breakfast variation.

Try these filled with BLT fixin’s or pulled pork and salsa, chicken salad, avocado and bacon, mozzarella, tomato and basil, or sausage and eggs.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Instant cornmeal (Arepa Cornmeal or Instant Polenta)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups boiling water (may not need all)

Method:

1. Mix the cornmeal with the salt, add water a cup at a time until cornmeal comes together in a soft dough.  The dough should be slightly sticky.  Let rest for 5-10 minutes so cornmeal has a chance to absorb the water.
2. With wet hands, scoop up enough dough to make round patties, 3-inches in diameter and 3/8-1/2-inch thick.  If the dough cracks around the edge, it is too dry.   Mix a tablespoon of water at a time into the dough until it forms a smooth patty.
3. Over medium high heat spray a non-stick skillet or griddle with cooking spray or wipe it with some cooking oil.
4. Fry the patties 5 to 6 minutes on each side or until they are nice and golden brown.  Patties can be frozen at this point.
5. Bake in 400° F. oven for 15 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped.  They’ll puff up when done.
6. Split patties and fill as desired.

Variations:

1. Add 1 Tbsp fresh basil chopped fine (cilantro or other herb of choice) to cornmeal mixture.
2. Add 1/4 cup queso blanco crumbled (grated cheddar cheese, Parmesan or other cheese of choice) to cornmeal mixture.
3. Use warm milk instead of boiling water.
4. Add 1/4 cup of self-rising flour to cornmeal.
5. Check out Chef John’s version made with cream cheese http://youtu.be/xcbjUZoFESU

Quajado, pronounced kwah-shah-doh, is a Sephardic Jewish dish of spinach, feta cheese, garlic, onion, Parmesan cheese and lots of dill.  Make it in a pie plate, or muffin cups for easy to wrap and pack in lunchboxes.  The flavors are Mediterranean with a moist spongy center topped with crunchy browned Parmesan cheese.  The same recipe can be made for appetizers by simply spreading the mixture over a 7X11 inch rectangular pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake as directed below and cut into fingers or squares.

If feta cheese is too salty or expensive for your tastes, substitute small curd cottage cheese, queso blanco crumbled or homemade ricotta cheese.  I used homemade queso blanco for the one shown here.  Greek seasoning, 1 tsp, can be be used in place of  pepper, dill, onion and garlic.  If using frozen spinach, thaw two 12-oz packages and squeeze dry before combining with other ingredients.  This is super easy and your family and guests will rave.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs fresh spinach, washed and chopped
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (homemade)
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (queso blanco, cottage cheese or ricotta with 1 tsp salt)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh dill leaves, chopped
• 3 leaves fresh basil, 3 sprigs parsley, 3 sprigs oregano chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  Butter a quiche pan, muffin pan or line a 9-inch square baking pan with kitchen parchment and set aside.
2. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add fresh spinach, onion and garlic and stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Remove to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
3. Mix all ingredients, except Parmesan cheese,  in a large bowl and then pack into prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
4. Bake for 25 minutes, or until browned on top and a knife comes out clean.  Cool, remove parchment paper from bottom and cut into serving pieces.
5. Serve with chicken soup and tomato salad for lunch or a light supper.  Great for Sunday brunch and lunchboxes too.

Guavas have just come into season and their bitter sweet skins will go into the jam pot along with some ripe mango. Guava skins are 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick and tasty when stewed in a light syrup.  Guava puree and strawberries with a kiss of rosemary is my next jam creation.  More about guava in a coming up post.

Be sure to drop by again for more recipes with fresh local produce from Rincon, Puerto Rico. 

• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1 Tbsp jalapeño peppers, chopped
• 1 scallion, sliced thinly
• 8 black olives, chopped
• 1 heaping Tbsp picante salsa
• 1/4 salt-pickled lime (2 tsp lime juice plus salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together just until combined.  Try to leave some chunky texture.

In Puerto Rico, fried potato balls can be found in every snack bar and most food trucks dotting the major highways from the Western side of the island to San Juan on the Eastern side.  Sometimes the potato balls are stuffed with a picadillo which is a savory meat sauce similar to taco meat.  Fried balls are also made from yuka (cassava) and yautia (taro).  They’re light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and about the size of a golf ball. Most of the time they’re served with a sauce of mayonaise and ketchup.  Though they’re tasty in their own right, they’re just a little bland for my palate so I’ve tweaked the general recipe to give the balls a bit more flavor using Puerto Rican sofrito.

Frozen green breadfruit is available in Asian and Latin markets.  Be sure to check out my sofrito recipe or you can find a number of sofritoes at Whole Foods or Latin markets in your area.  If you can’t find breadfruit by all means use Yukon Gold potatoes for best results.

This recipe makes 24 balls for hors d’oeuvres the size of cherry tomatoes.  The sauce is made of equal amounts of low fat yogurt, mayonnaise, and  1 Tbsp. capers which provides a bit of tang, saltiness and cool creamy texture.  Picante salsa or guacamole sauce will work too.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb breadfruit (fresh or frozen) or Yukon Gold potatoes
• 5 Tbsp sofrito with culantro and cilantro
• minced chili of choice (Serrano, jalapeno or hotter) to taste
• 1 Tbsp achiote oil (annatto seeds warmed in olive oil)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cover breadfruit or potatoes with water, add 1 Tbsp salt, boil until fork tender. Drain and return to pot to dry and cool a bit.
2. Saute sofrito and chili if using in the achiote oil.
3. Mash breadfruit or potatoes with vegetable oil, salt and pepper until smooth.  Add sauteed sofrito and mix until mash can be formed into a ball of dough.
4. Roll mashed dough into balls the size desired.  Roll in flour and again in your hands to remove excess flour.
5. Chill balls thoroughly, about 20 minutes in the freezer.
6. In a small sauce pan, heat 2-inches of oil to 350 degrees or until the surface of the oil looks wavy.  Fry balls 4 or 5 at a time turning them so they brown all over.
7. Remove fried balls to drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and serve warm with sauce.