Recipes for an Arepas Brunch

The arepas recipe may look elaborate, but it’s more time intensive (~1 hour total) than challenging… and well worth it.

 

 

 

Go-to Guacamole Recipe

2 perfectly ripe avocados

1 tablespoon lime juice (no need to use fresh limes, bottled juice is fine)

Dash of salt

Dash of pepper

2 tablespoons chopped red onions.

Scoop avocado meat into a bowl and mash with the lime juice.  Chop and stir in onions.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Plantains

3 ripe plantains, sliced

Cinnamon

Salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon sugar

Slice plantains (make circles, not strips).  Sprinkle with cinnamon and a touch of salt.  Heat olive oil in a grill pan at medium heat.  Add plantains and grill on each side until light brown (shouldn’t take more than a few minutes).  After plantains are cooked through, add vanilla and then sugar.  Stir around the pan until plantains caramelize.  Turn off heat and remove plantains.

Meat Marinade

2 packages of stir fry beef strips

½ medium red onion, chopped

5-7 cloves garlic, chopped

4 long green peppers OR 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped

3 tablespoons lime juice

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pepper

Chop red onion, garlic gloves and green peppers in food processor or by hand.  Cut meat into shorter strips (~ two inches long). Add meat, chopped onions, garlic, peppers, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper to gallon freezer bag. Mix everything together in the bag.  Let sit in the fridge overnight (if pressed for time, marinade the meat for 10-20 minutes while you prepare everything else).

Assembly

3-4 arepas shells

Guacamole

Spinach

Greek yogurt

Chopped Cilantro

Sriracha, Tabasco, Tapatio, OR other red hot sauce

Heat up grill pan on the burner at medium heat.  1) Grill shells on each side until brown grill marks appear and shells are heated through (cheese inside should be melted).  I don’t add oil, but instead drill them on the dry heat.  Otherwise, the shells get too greasy.  Set aside.  2) In the same pan, prepare plantains (recipe above).  Set aside.  3) Add all contents of the meat marinade to the pan.  You do not need to add any oil since this is already in the marinade.  Cover and let the meat cook.  There will be a lot of liquid so the meat will steam cook.  After the meat is cooked through, remove the lid and let the water boil out.  Boil down the pan so a nice glaze covers the meat.

Prepare the plates: Open the shell (it’s almost like a hinged hamburger bun with cheese in the center).  Cover the bottom of the shell in a layer of guacamole (this will serve as glue).  Put spinach on top of guacamole.  Put meat on top of spinach.  Top the meat with a spoonful of Greek yogurt, chopped cilantro, and the drizzle on red sauce for decoration.  The yogurt will balance out the spice and also serve as glue for the top part of the shell.  Serve plantains and warmed up black beans on the side.  Close the shell, pick it up like a burger, and ENJOY!