Difficulty: Medium

Total time32m​
Elaboration20m​
Cooking12m​
Repose15 m

The first thing we must make is the dough, so we will mix the corn flour, water and salt and make a ball when it is very homogeneous, letting it rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes, wrapped in transparent film.

After that time we make six equal sized balls, work them with our hands and flatten them delicately.

Once ready, we cook them in a non-stick pan, with olive oil for about six minutes on each side at a medium-low temperature.

When the arepas are ready, we make a cut in one of the sides and fill it to taste with the mixture of ingredients: cheese, chicken and avocado mashed with a fork.

2. ajiaco

ajiaco colombiano near me

Ingredients for 6 people . 400 g creole potatoes (or monalisa), 250 g pastusa potatoes (or kennebec), 2 g chives, 0.5 chicken, 1 sprig of fresh cilantro, 1 bunch of guascas (herbs), 3 cloves of crushed garlic, chicken broth, 300 g cooked corn in grains, 1 aguazar cut into slices, 1 handful of capers, 1 cup of heavy cream, salt and ground black pepper.

Elaboration . Peel and cut the potatoes into finger-thick slices. We cut the chives in half. Add the potatoes, chives, seasoned chicken, garlic, and cilantro to the casserole and cover with the chicken broth. We let it cook at a minimum boil, covered for 45 minutes. Take out the chicken, shred it and put it back together with the corn and guascas, letting it cook for 10 more minutes uncovered. When it is ready, we accompany the ajiaco with peeled and sliced ​​avocados, whole capers and heavy cream to the diner's taste.

3. Rice with chicken

Ingredients : for 4 people . 250 g chopped chicken, 400 g bomb rice, 1 l chicken broth, 2 cloves of garlic, 100 g red pepper, 100 g green pepper, 1 ripe tomato, 5 g chorizo ​​pepper pulp, 150 ml white wine, salt and pepper , extra virgin olive oil.

Elaboration : Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and sauté them in a 40 cm diameter paella pan with a generous splash of extra virgin olive oil. We only want them to take color on the outside, so, as soon as they brown slightly, we remove them from the paella and set aside. Peel the garlic cloves and chop them finely. We add a little more oil to the paella if we see it necessary and sauté them over low heat. Before they brown, add the two types of pepper, cleaned and cut into small cubes, season with salt and pepper and continue sautéing for a couple of minutes. We wash the tomato well, cut it in half and grate it. We add to the paella along with a tablespoon of chorizo ​​pepper. We stir and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the white wine and let the alcohol evaporate before adding the rice and sauté, stirring constantly, for another minute. Finally, we add the chicken to the paella along with three glasses of the chicken broth and increase the heat to maximum. We reserve the rest of the broth. We stir well to distribute the chicken throughout the container and, when the broth starts to boil, we count three minutes. We test the salt level and adjust it if necessary. After this time, we lower the heat and cook the rice with chicken for 15 minutes without touching the rice, stirring, or anything similar. If the rice is dry of broth, we add the reserved one little by little, but it may not be necessary. After the cooking time has passed, remove the paella from the heat, cover with a clean cloth and let it rest for five minutes before serving. For the rice with chicken to come out perfect, it is important that the paella is of the indicated diameter and that the fire on which we cook it covers its entire base. If the fire is smaller than the paella, only the center will be cooked and the rice on the sides will be raw. In this case, if you use a smaller paella that fits your plate or burner, reduce the quantities of ingredients so that the rice is well spread over the base in a thin layer.

4. Grilled sea brea



Ingredients for 1 person . 1 portion of sea bream, extra virgin olive oil, salt
Elaboration . We have two options for this recipe and in both of them we are going to ensure that the skin does not stick to the pan. On the one hand, cooking the sea bream open, which is the most practical way to secure the skin. In this case what we have to do is heat a little olive oil on the griddle, putting some baking paper in the pan. Season the sea bream with salt and pepper, place it on the meat side when the pan is hot over medium heat and cook for three minutes. We turn and cook for another three minutes. If what we have are clean sea bream fillets, the procedure changes slightly. Now we have to put a little olive oil in the pan, over high heat, and when it is very hot we reduce the heat to medium and put the sea bream with the skin part in the pan. We apply light pressure with our hand or put a weight so that the skin does not shrink and retract and let it cook for three minutes. After this time, we turn off the heat, turn the sea bream over and cook it with the residual heat for a minute on the meat side.

5. Meat Empanadas

beef empanadas

Ingredients for 6 people . 275 g white pre-cooked corn flour, 365 ml water, 6 g salt, 2 strands of saffron, sunflower oil to stretch the dough, 400 g minced beef for the filling, 1 small onion for the filling, 1 green Italian pepper for the filling, 0.5 red pepper for the filling, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce for the filling, 2 tablespoon of olive oil for the filling, 1 sweet pepper for the filling, 1 onion powder for the filling, several fresh cilantro leaves chopped, salt and ground black pepper.

Elaboration . The first thing we must do is the filling, since it must also be cold before filling the empanadas, so we sauté the meat in a pan and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the onion and peppers with olive oil, add the paprika, the homemade tomato sauce and the previously sautéed meat. We add the cilantro at the end and cook the whole thing for a few minutes, adjusting the salt and pepper and then letting it cool. Once this is done, we move on to the dough. To do this, we heat part of the water and infuse the saffron into that water for a few minutes. Then we mix all the ingredients in a bowl, work them for three minutes with our hands and let them rest in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes. After that time, we put a large piece of transparent film on the counter and paint a piece, about the size of a small plate, with vegetable oil. We put a fist-sized ball of dough on that oil and fold the plastic wrap over it in such a way that we can flatten the ball with a rolling pin without the dough sticking to it. Once stretched evenly, we remove the fold of film, put a tablespoon of filling on the stretched dough and with the help of the film we fold the dough over the filling. We flatten slightly and with the help of a large pasta cutter, or a plating ring or an inverted bowl, we mark a half moon, leaving the filling enclosed, pressing all the way down so that the dough is cut through the film. When we separate the film, we remove the excess dough that we can reuse and keep the filled crescent on a plate, waiting for it to fry. When we have done the same with all the empanadas, heat plenty of vegetable oil—preferably sunflower, which gives less flavor—in a deep frying pan and fry until the empanadas are golden brown—about three minutes. We remove and drain the excess fat with absorbent paper. We serve hot.

6. hogao

Ingredients for 3 people . 4 tomato, 1 green onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, salt and ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil.

Elaboration . We cut the tomatoes into one centimeter cubes and chop the onion to the same size as the tomato, in addition to chopping the garlic very finely. Heat the oil, add all the ingredients and sauté over medium heat until the tomatoes and chives are completely cooked and enough liquid has evaporated to have a thick sauce texture, which will depend on our taste and our heat.

7. Homemade custard

homemade flan

Ingredients for 4 people . 500 ml milk (with or without lactose, or vegetable), 1 cinnamon stick, 1 small or medium vanilla pod, 1 lemon peel, 4 egg yolks, 75 g cornstarch, Maria cookies.

Elaboration . Place the milk in a saucepan with the cinnamon stick, the vanilla pod that we opened with a knife and the lemon peel - only the yellow part. Heat, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let it infuse for 15-20 minutes and strain. Place the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl and beat with a whisk. Add the cornstarch, beat well and gradually add the milk, mixing with the whisk to leave a homogeneous texture. Heat a container in a water bath and pour the preparation. Heat, without letting the water boil, stirring constantly with the whisk, so that it does not stick. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes or more, until thickened. Remember that when hot the mixture will always be more liquid than when it cools. Fill the containers that we like the most and let them cool a little. Carefully place a Maria cookie on top of each serving and place in the refrigerator. Let cool completely for a few hours before serving.

8. Patacon Pisao

patacon pisao

Ingredients for 4 people . 2 plantains, 1 kg pork ribs, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 kg tomato, 1 avocado, 2 red peppers, 1 spring onion, 1 branch of fresh cilantro.

Elaboration . To make the patacón, peel the banana, cut it into four pieces, discarding the ends. Cut into 5cm pieces. Fry the eight pieces in plenty of oil for five minutes. Take out and let cool. When it is warm, mash it with a board until it is like a biscuit and fry again for five minutes until crispy. For the shredded meat, braise the pork ribs in the oven for six hours with onion, carrot, garlic and white wine. For the roasted peppers, wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 30 minutes. For the sauce, peel the tomato, chop it along with the onion and garlic. Cook everything with olive oil until you achieve a sautéed texture. For the filling, shred the rib with the roasted peppers in strips and the sauce. Mix everything. To assemble, place the patacón on the base as if it were a pizza, add the meat and pepper mixture on top, and cut some cubes of avocado to decorate the patacón. Finish with a minced spring onion and cilantro.

9. Patacón or fried plantain with pineapple

Ingredients for 4 people . 2 plantains, 2 slices of natural pineapple, 0.5 chilli, 0.5 red onion, 5 ml lemon juice, fresh parsley or cilantro, coarse salt, extra virgin olive or sunflower oil for frying.

Elaboration . Peel the bananas. Remove the ends and make a long longitudinal cut in the rind without piercing the meat. Cut into slices of about 3 cm. Heat plenty of oil in a saucepan, deep frying pan or deep fryer, and fry the bananas in turns, so as not to overload the space too much. Remove when they start to turn golden brown and let drain on kitchen paper. Wrap each portion in a sheet of paper and flatten with a hammer or rolling pin. Fry again until golden brown and crispy to taste. Let drain on kitchen paper and add coarse salt. To accompany, peel two slices of pineapple, cut into small pieces and mix with chopped red onion, a little chilli paste, lemon juice and chopped parsley. Season to taste.

10. Stuffed potatoes

stuffed potatoes near me