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Try this easy recipe for arepas with eggs, then check out our arepas reina pepiada and arepas pelúa.

Watch our 20-second video for the easiest way to stone an avocado...

TREND: GLOBAL BRUNCH

No longer limited to classics such as smoked salmon and eggs Benedict, brunch has taken on an international flavour as more restaurants open up for the early crowd. Venezuelan arepas – crisp and golden on the outside, warm and soft inside, are the perfect pairing for breakfast flavours. Don’t forget the bloody marys!

Ingredients

  • 400g masa repa or harina pan, (see notes below)
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil, plus a little extra for frying or use clarified butter for frying (see notes below)
  • for dusting plain flour
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 avocado, sliced and mixed with juice of 1 lime
  • a small bunch coriander, leaves torn
  • to serve hot sauce

CREOLE SAUCE

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon, chopped
  • ½ onion, finely diced
  • 1 small green pepper, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • ½ x 400g tin plum tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • a few good dashes Tabasco
  • 100g cooked prawns
  • chopped to make 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley

Method

  • STEP 1

    To make the sauce, put the olive oil and streaky bacon into a cold frying pan, gradually increase the heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Add the onion, pepper and celery with a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and tomato purée, and cook for another minute. Tip in the plum tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and some seasoning, and simmer gently until thickened. Stir in the prawns and parsley. Keep warm.

  • STEP 2

    Mix the masa repa, salt and vegetable oil with 450ml of lukewarm water. Tip onto a lightly floured worksurface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. Take a pinch in your hand and press it flat. If it cracks at the edges, it needs more water – it should feel pliable and soft, but not wet and sticky. Wrap with clingfilm and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Split the dough into 8 balls, and roll each on a lightly floured worksurface into 2cm thick rounds. Heat a non-stick frying pan and brush the arepas on both sides with vegetable oil or clarified butter. Cook, in batches, for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden and crisp. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest. Fry the eggs in vegetable oil to your liking.

  • STEP 3

    To serve, split the arepas and spoon in some of the Creole sauce and top with an egg. Scatter with avocado, coriander and hot sauce, if you like.

Watch our 20-second video for the easiest way to stone an avocado...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8UQn8J12UA

Buy masa repa or harina pan (pre-cooked cornflour) from amazon.co.uk. Don’t confuse either of these with masa harina as this is a completely different product, which is used to make tortillas. To make clarified butter, melt butter gently in a small pan. The clear clarified butter can then be poured off the top, leaving the milky solids behind.


Try more of our impressive brunch recipes here...

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