Black beans (beans or beans or black beans) are part of Venezuelan cuisine and one of its best known dishes, the so-called Creole pavilion. In addition, these vegetables are delicious as a filling for vegetarian arepas, another typical dish of Venezuelan cuisine. Apart from black beans, cheese is also usually added, which is why I have used a homemade vegan cheese whose recipe you can find. It is not a very common filling to see, but if you like to experiment in the kitchen you will love these arepas stuffed with black beans, which are called Domino arepas due to their color combination.
Ingredients to make Arepas stuffed with black beans:
• 2 cups of precooked corn flour (PAN)
• 2 cups of warm water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 2 cups black beans soaked for 8 hours
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ red bell pepper
• 1 sweet chili
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 1 cup vegan grated cheese
How to make Arepas stuffed with black beans:
Soak the beans overnight before preparation. Drain them well, wash them and put the black beans in a large pot covered with water. Add the bay leaf and cook half covered for an hour and a half until soft. Remove the foam that forms on the surface of the water.
While you cut the pepper and onion into pieces, chop the chili and garlic. Put them in the blender glass, add a splash of water and blend. Then add the cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and continue grinding. Heat a pot with a little oil and cook the crushed vegetables for 10 minutes until the sauce of the vegan stuffed arepas is ready.
When the black beans soften, add the sofrito and cook for about 20 more minutes so that the broth thickens a little more. Check the point of salt and pepper. To prepare the vegan arepas dough, pour the warm water into a bowl and dissolve the sugar and salt. In another bowl put the flour and add the water little by little stirring with a fork. When the dough starts to thicken, use your hands to knead until the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.
Divide the dough of the arepas stuffed with beans into 8-10 equal portions. With wet hands, form balls and flatten them with your hand. Heat a frying pan or griddle brushed with oil. Cook the arepas on both sides for several minutes to toast them. Make a cut opening each arepa without cutting to the end. Fill the arepas with black beans and vegan cheese.
Next, bake the arepas stuffed with black beans in a preheated oven at 180ºC for 15 minutes.
