The Arepa: Classic & Contemporary Recipes for Venezuela’s Daily Bread

Over 50 recipes introducing and celebrating Venezuela’s irresistible and most popular street food, the arepa.

The arepa--a crisp round pocket made from corn flour--is one of Venezuela’s defining foods. Gluten-free and dairy-free, arepas are endlessly adaptable, unarguably delicious, and fun to eat. From chicken to cheese, avocado, and pork, just about anything you would put between two slices of bread can fit into an arepa. With a growing number of arepa bars opening globally and top chefs and food lovers alike discovering Venezuelan cuisine, arepa fever is spreading fast! Arepa will introduce this celebrated little pocket to everyday eating, first by teaching how to make arepa dough from scratch, then providing instructions on how to cook them, and pairing them with countless fillings and flavor combinations. Making arepas is easily accomplished in any home kitchen with four simple ingredients--corn flour, water, oil, and salt--and they can be assembled in advance. They contain no replacement or unnatural ingredients, making them way healthier than most gluten-free bread recipes. No rising is required, making the dough easier than bread, and there’s no rolling, making them less tricky than tacos. With a little practice, it will become simple to add arepas to your culinary repertoire.

Irena Stein is a photographer, restaurateur, and humanitarian whose spirit is deeply rooted in humanitizing society. Irena came to America from Venezuela on a Fulbright Scholarship to Stanford University where she graduated with a Master’s in Cultural Anthropology. Since then she has merged her passion for art, food, community, and environmentalism by opening her first restaurant, Alma Cocina Latina, in Baltimore, Maryland. Irena has also started a community meals initiative, Alkimiah, to support families in need in her local community. Accomplished Venezuelan chef Eduardo Egui has worked in a number of high-end kitchens and consults for restaurants in Caracas and Miami. Eduardo lives in Barcelona, Spain, with his wife and child, having opened his restaurant La Real Hamburguesaría in 2017, and travels frequently to Venezuela for his work with his company Caracas Catering.