The Arepa: What to eat for breakfast in Colombia – OH recipe

By  Harry

I’m a big fan of cooking, but I also love to eat the new foods of each culture that I visit.  So, when we’re on the road, I have a general rule to save money on food — cook breakfast. It sounds simple, but I like to add a twist… make it a cultural breakfast. In Colombia, this is the arepa. In the US, we all know and love the taco, but here in Colombia, tacos are few and far between. Instead, a thicker corn shell known as an arepa is the main staple.

At home, I like making breakfast tacos. So, I decided to create a breakfast taco with an arepa shell.  The difference with this new taco creation, I learned, is that the arepa doesn’t have the ability to be hand held when it’s topped with a massive egg scramble.

On the streets of Colombia, one of my favorite things have been these arepas.  They come stuffed with egg in hamburger form and, of course, stuffed with cheese.  Hopefully, my variation on this dish does the Colombian common food justice.

Notice the poze

Don't crowd the mushrooms

Ingredients:

Eggs

Onions

Mushrooms

Chili Peppers

Tomatoes

Salt

Butter

Start by chopping all veggies and then cooking each ingredient, starting with onions and mushrooms.  The more toppings you have, the more eggs you need.  So, if you’re only serving yourself, don’t add a whole onion or six mushrooms.

Guacamole:

Avocados (smaller ones need more)

Tomatoes

Onions

Garlic

Salt

Oregano

Chili

Lime

I like my guac chunky, so I dice all my ingredients. Garlic, salt, chili, lime, and oregano are all subject to taste. I like mine spicy so I put 2 jalapenos in each batch. Once all ingredients are in a bowl, mash with a masher (any object can be a masher; if you don’t have one, be creative). Don’t blend or whisk your guacamole. If you do, you’ll oxidize your avocados, making them turn brown quicker. If you are storing the guac in the fridge, put one seed in it and it will keep overnight.

Once you’re done cooking your eggs, heat up an arepa/taco shell and serve with guacamole or pico de gallo.

DC hard at work

Check out our other Recipe Blogs: Spanish Mushroom, Vegan Croatia, Carnitas

Here are some other food blogs on how to make and Arepa: whats4eats, suite101, Readymade

Buen provecho!