It is great being back in Ecuador. After months of travelling it is really nice living in a real house again and of course Puerto López is still as beautiful as it always has been. The house we are living in right now has stunning Ocean views and a great kitchen, so I am happy!
Puerto López is a small village and I love the characteristics of living in a village instead of having all the comfort of a big city. One of the best things living here is that there are a lot of street vendors. Not only the ones in the centre and near the beach, but also the baker from our ‘barrio’ who sell his breads and cakes on his motorbike, going from door to door. You can hear the fisherman all over town, selling his shrimps out of a bucket from his bike and screaming “camaron, camaròòòòhn! and there are so many cars that sell their stuff riding around town, playing a tape so the driver doesn’t have to talk into the microphone all the time. It must be so boring hearing all day long sentences like “naranjas, naranjas, un dolar” or “queso queso queso, queso queso queso”. I wonder if they still hear it in their sleep!
One day a big truck came and had a load full of plantains, oranges and pineapple. We decided to try it ourselves, buying from the street vendors instead of getting the fruit from the vegetable market. So I ran towards the gate and stopped the car. The man opened the back of the truck and asked how many bunches of plantains I wanted. Ehh… I only need 4 plantains, not even òne whole bunch, that is waaaay to much. He smiled at me and I could almost read his mind “another strange gringa”. But he gave me the 4 I wanted and I also took a lot of oranges. It only cost me 1,5 dollar and as an extra he also gave me a yuca.
But… what can you make with a yuca? I really had no idea! When I was looking through my travel-food-photo’s I saw a picture of the delicious arepas we had in Popayan, Colombia. I loved them, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside and with a huge pile of shredded cheese op top! So Arepas it is!
It was a great lunch! Tasty and quite filling.
But later it crossed my mind I made a very common mistake…
– when a vendor gives you something extra, you know you paid too much
– the trick of giving a sample worked, next time I am going to buy (more!) yuca
Well, I guess I’ve learned a lesson about buying stuff from the street vendors: I have to practice my bargain skills!
Arepas from Colombia
Ingrediënts
(6 arepas for 2-3 persons)
500 gr yuca, cooked
75 gr cornflour
2 – 4 tbsp milk
2 – 4 tbsp butter
salt
butter or oil for baking
Instructions
- Cut the yuca in pieces and put it in a bowl with the cornflour, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp milk and about 1 small tsp salt.
- Mash the yuca and the other ingredients until you have a thick and sticky puree with a doughy texture. If needed add equal amounts of milk and butter to soften it and add more salt to your taste.
- Knead the yuca dough quickly (about 1 minute) and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Divide the dough in 6 ball shaped pieces and flatten them down into disks
- Bake the arepas in butter or oil on a medium heat until they are golden brown on the outside but still soft on the inside. Bake about 3 minutes on each side.
- Serve them with shredded cheese like mozzarella or ‘queso fresco’. Guacamole and a tomato salsa make great side-dishes!
- 500 gr yuca, cooked
- 75 gr cornflour
- 2 - 4 tbsp milk
- 2 - 4 tbsp butter
- salt
- butter or oil for baking
- Cut the yuca in pieces and put it in a bowl with the cornflour, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp milk and about 1 small tsp salt.
- Mash the yuca and the other ingredients until you have a thick and sticky puree with a doughy texture. If needed add equal amounts of milk and butter to soften it and add more salt to your taste.
- Knead the yuca dough quickly (about 1 minute) and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Divide the dough in 6 ball shaped pieces and flatten them down into disks
- Bake the arepas in butter or oil on a medium heat until they are golden brown on the outside but still soft on the inside. Bake about 3 minutes on each side.
- Serve them with shredded cheese like mozzarella or 'queso fresco'. Guacamole and a tomato salsa make great side-dishes!
