How to Make Easy Colombian Arepas and Hogao Sauce at Home | Chowhound at Home — Cook #WithMe

Senior video producer Guillermo Riveros is cooking up Colombian dishes while social distancing as a way to find comfort during these difficult times through dishes that remind him of his family and home. Here he shows us how to make an extra cheesy version of traditional white arepas and a super easy sauce to eat them with called hogao.

Colombian White Corn Cheese Arepas (corn cakes a.k.a. quaran-cakes)
(makes about 8 medium sized arepas)
Ingredients:

For dough:
1 ½ - 2 cups warm water (start slow and adjust as needed)
2 cup pre-cooked white corn meal (such as P.A.N.®)
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated edam cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan
½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
1 tbsp butter (softened)
1 tspn of salt (or to taste)
Steps:
Combine the pre-cooked white corn meal and the warm water until fully incorporated.
Add the softened butter and incorporate fully until you have a soft smooth dough.
Add your cheeses to the dough and knead until fully incorporated.
Pro tip: wet your fingers with water as you’re working with the dough, so it sticks less to your fingers.
Form balls and flatten into discs with your fingers until you have your desired thickness.
To cook:
Use butter on a non-stick pan, or cooking spray on a griddle.
Cook for 5-7 minutes at medium high heat without moving the arepas, flip and cook for another 5-7 minutes on the other side until you have a light golden brown crust on both sides.
Make them extra cheesy:
Combine your desired amount of shredded, grated and crumbled cheeses (I recommend using the same cheeses you used in the dough)
Once arepas are done on both sides, let them cool for a couple of minutes, slice them in half, stuff with the cheese blend, close again and finish on the same pan on low heat until cheese filling is melted.

Hogao (fried tomato and scallion sauce/quick sofrito)
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped scallions
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 tsp chicken bouillon powder (or crumble a cube)

Cook:

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the scallions, cook for 1-2 minutes (starts getting fragrant)
Add garlic, cook for a couple of minutes stirring until softened.
Add tomatoes, salt, pepper and chicken bouillon. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook stirring constantly for 10 more minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Check and adjust seasoning if needed.

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