Hola! Bienvenidos a Meatless Monday! I received another Summerland LA vegetable delivery yesterday, so decided to use some of the goods for the Meatless Monday recipe. We got some amazing Hungarian Peppers and I wanted to cook some of those first. I used the peppers as a filling for these arepas and they add just enough spice, but these aren’t spicy by any means.  You could top these with spicy salsa to add some heat.  They’re also great with fresh tomatoes or greens.

Start by mixing the cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in medium mixing bowl.

Add in the vegetable oil.  The batter will still be dry at this point.

Stir in the cool water.  Add the water slowly so you can get the batter to be the consistency you want it to be.  You don’t want it too runny since you have to form it into discs later, but you don’t want it too dry or it won’t hold its shape.  I would start by adding 3/4 cup of the water first and more as needed.

Dice the onions and add the diced onion to the cornmeal batter.  Cover cornmeal batter with plastic wrap for around 15 minutes.

Cook the corn and transfer to a small bowl to cool.

Dice the peppers and mix with the corn. Add the feta cheese.

Remove the plastic wrap and stir the cornmeal batter again. Form cornmeal batter into discs and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.  I actually leave mine in the fridge for an hour if I can so they hold their shape better.

Remove the cornmeal discs from the refrigerator. Place the corn mixture on a disc and place in a skillet pre-heated with olive oil. Place a second cornmeal disc on top of the disc with the filling and press gently, sealing sides as much as possible. If they’re not completely sealed, don’t worry! It’ll taste just as good.

Cook 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook another 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove arepa from skillet and serve hot.

Thanks for reading and have a great week!