One of my goals is life as a young woman is to completely master my grandmother’s hot water cornbread recipe. Myself and others in my family try our hand at it, but it just doesn’t taste the same as hers. My grandmother has been making hot water cornbread for decades so she has it down to a science, but I think the secret ingredient is music and sound. When she’s cooking, she’s usually humming a tune, or listening to the radio. Being a younger version of my grandma, I listen to my Imeem playlist, and sing and dance while cooking. And I tell you, it never fails to make my food taste better. That’s the soul of food, the music.
When I found the recipe for Arepas with Cheese and Corn, it reminded me a lot of my grandmother’s hot water cornbread. Arepas are native to Venezuela, and are described as a cornmeal-bread. They’re very similar to the El Salvadorian pupusa, the American pancake, or even the French crepe. It’s always interesting to me the similarity of dishes across different countries and cultures. It says a lot about migration and history, and reminds us of how we’re all the same, but different. I can’t wait to make arepas myself and share it with my grandma. It will be my twist on her classic.
Ok, enough reflection. Here’s the recipe!
1 cup yellow cornmeal, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, more for serving, optional
1/2 cup fresh sweet corn kernels, or frozen kernels, thawed
1/4 cup chopped scallion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 small serrano or jalapeño chili, seeded and minced, optional
3 tablespoons corn, canola, grapeseed or other neutral oil
Cooked black beans or vegetables or sour cream for stuffing, optional.
HipHopMuse’s note: if possible, use a cast-iron skillet. It makes the difference, trust me.
1. Put cornmeal in a large bowl with salt and cheese. 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 cornmeal mixture until a thick batter is formed. Fold in the corn kernels, scallion, cilantro and chili if using.
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 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. If desired, serve with butter or stuff with beans, vegetables or sour cream.
Yield: 8 to 12 arepas.
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