Arepas with black beans and salsa verde
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Arepas are a fantastic fried cornmeal cake from South America, most closely associated with Venezuelan and Colombian cuisine. Here, they’re served with black beans, zesty quick-pickled onions and a verdant salsa verde enriched with feta.
This recipe is taken from One Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones (£26, Fourth Estate). Photography by Issy Croker.
Ingredients
Arepas
- 300g of cornmeal, fine
- 1 tsp sea salt , heaped
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
Black beans
- olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bunch of coriander , large, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 800g of black beans , from 2 tins
- 1 green chilli , finely chopped
Pickled red onions
- 1 red onion, halved and finely sliced
- 1 lime , juiced
- 1 pinch of flaky sea salt
Salsa verde
- 150g of feta , or vegan alternative, plus extra for serving
- 1 bunch of coriander , small, leaves picked, plus extra for serving
- 4 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 lime , zested and juiced
- 1 green chilli
To serve
Method
1
Add the red onion to a small bowl with the juice of a lime and a pinch of sea salt, then scrunch them together with your hands so they start to become a bright pink colour. Put to one side to lightly pickle
2
To prepare the dough, place the cornmeal, sea salt, oil and 400-450ml of boiling water into a bowl. Allow to sit for about a minute to let the water absorb into the cornmeal a little. Then carefully mix the dough with your hands until combined. You want it to come together a bit like Play-Doh. It shouldn’t be crumbly. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes or up to 30 if you have time
3
To make the black beans, add a little olive oil to a medium frying pan and, once hot, add the cumin seeds, coriander stalks and paprika for 1 minute. Then add the black beans with the liquid from the can and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and then add the chopped green chilli and coriander leaves
4
For the salsa verde, put 30g of the feta and half the coriander leaves into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blitz until you have a deep green, slightly creamy salsa. Season to taste then set aside for serving
5
Once your dough has rested (it should clean the bowl and be easy to work with), pull off golf ball-sized pieces and form 8cm by 1cm-thick patties (you should be able to make 10). Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and once hot add the arepas and put the lid on, cooking on a medium heat for 7 minutes on each side until they are golden brown on both sides. Place in a warm oven while you continue to fry the rest of the arepas
6
Finish the black beans with the chopped green chilli and the coriander leaves. Serve the arepas while they are warm, split open and fill with a spoonful of the black beans, some salsa, radishes, pickled red onions, a squeeze of lime juice and a crumble of the remaining feta
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Arepas with black beans and salsa verde
