Colombian Arepas and Mango Salsa

I am part of a bi-culture family, Colomglish if you will, and one of the things I really love about that is trying/making foods from my husbands culture. 

Arepas are soft little corncakes and a staple food in Colombia. They are incredibly comforting, easy to make and of course, egg free. 

For approx 20 arepas you will need: 

• 225g Cornflour 
• A tablespoon of butter
• 250ml milk
• 2 generous hand fulls of cheddar cheese
• A teaspoon of salt
• Butter for frying

Step One: 

Shove the cornflour, cheese and salt in a bowl. 

Step Two:

Heat the milk until warm and the butter until melted, then pour them into the bowl with the dry ingredients. 

Step Three: 

Squash it all together with your hands until you've made a dough. 

Pre-cooked Arepas

Step Four:

Now shape your arepas! You can either do this with your hands or roll out the dough and use a cookie cutter. For these ones I did a mixture of free-form and stars for Chiquita.

Step Five:

Heat a teaspoon of butter in a pan. Cook the arepas for 3 minutes, then flip and do for another 3 minutes. 

Step Six: 

Serve warm with a dipping sauce such as this mango salsa (3 big tomatoes, 1 onion, 3/4 of a mango and some lime juice chopped and mixed together).