Arepas w/ mango and pickled red onion

Prior to making arepas (South American fried corncakes) this weekend, I had never had an arepa. I’ve heard aproned ladies shout “Corn arepas!” at street fairs before, but never ventured so far as to try one. However, being partial to all corn-based foods - tortillas, papusas, corn bread - I’ve been interested in making them for a while.

They were featured in the most recent issue of Bon Appetit and thus I decided to finally go for it, and being that my new neighborhood has a relatively large Hispanic community, finding arepa flour (“masarepa”) at a local store was easy. What I love about making arepas is that you get a big payoff with relatively little labor - all you have to do is mix the masarepa with salt and water, shape it into patties and fry for about 15 minutes (most of the cooking time is inactive). You end up with crisp, chewy and dense corn cakes that can be filled with basically anything. I went for light, vegetarian fillings but other fun ideas include: shredded chicken or pork, chorizo and/or radishes. You can also take the sweet route with peanut butter and Nutella. Lord have mercy.

(Yield: About 8 cakes)
Ingredients:
2 c arepa flour (“masarepa”)
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 c warm water
Oil for frying

Pickled red onion:
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 c boiling water
1 tsp salt
1/4 c apple cider vinegar

Other toppings:
Thinly sliced mango
Cilantro
Sour cream
Shredded cheese

Procedure: Start by preparing pickled onions. Place sliced onion into a bowl. Combine boiling water with salt in a cup and stir to dissolve. Stir vinegar into salt water and add to bowl with onions, making sure all onions are covered in brine. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min.

To make arepas, combine masarepa with salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour warm water into well while slowly incorporating the masarepa until no lumps remain. The dough will be loose but should stick together when pressed into a ball. Let the dough rest for 5 min.

Divide the dough into 8-10 balls. Using your palms, shape balls into patties, making sure to round out the edges as you go. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat and place 4 patties into the skillet. Cover tightly with a lid and cook for about 6 min, until the bottoms start to brown. Flip arepas and cook uncovered for another 6 min. Transfer arepas to a cooling rack and repeat with remaining patties, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.

To serve, split warm arepas in the center and fill with preferred toppings.

What fillings would you use in arepas?