We’re big fans of Disney’s Encanto, and we’ve always wanted to try one of Mirabel’s mom’s famous arepas. The healing powers were a plus, but we also just wanted to try that tasty traditional Colombian food!
Luckily, our dreams of getting a bite of one of the Madrigal family’s arepas are finally coming true! How do you even begin a task like this? Well, we’ll tell you!
Disney released a recipe for White Corn and Mangalitsa Pork Arepas With Hogao. The chef who created this has also created food for the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, so we know we’re in for a real treat.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients
For Hogao:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup sliced scallions
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cups diced tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For pork rillettes:
- 3 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut in large pieces
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup Colombian lager or chicken broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
For corn arepas:
- 2 1/2 cups precooked white cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 cups warm water
- 1/4 canola oil
Here’s how to make them:
Directions
First, make the Hogao:
- Preheat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes, until hot. Add scallions, garlic, and cumin. Sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, until tomatoes are softened.
- Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until thickened.
- Cool completely and store covered in refrigerator up to 1 week.
Next, make the pork rillettes:
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Generously season pork with salt and pepper; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large, deep-sided pot over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add onions and garlic and sweat until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to brown.
- Add reserved pork, celery, chicken broth, lager (or chicken broth), bay leaves, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil. Cook until liquid reduces slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until fork tender, about 3 hours. Remove from oven.
- Remove pork from liquid, reserving cooking liquid, and transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Cool for 10 minutes. Mix on low speed until meat is broken up.
- Strain solids from reserved sauce.
- Run mixer at low speed, and slowly add sauce back into meat until it reaches pâté-like consistency. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Set aside and cool while making arepa dough.
Lastly, make the corn arepas:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix cornmeal, sugar, salt, and melted butter in a large bowl; slowly add water until thoroughly mixed.
- Wet hands and form a ball of dough with 1/4 cup of cornmeal mixture. Press to form arepa cake about 3 inches wide and 1/4-1/3 inch thick. (Dough will continue to stiffen. If dough becomes too stiff, add a small amount of water).
- Form 2 tablespoons of pork rillettes mixture into a small ball. Place in center of arepa and form cake around meat mixture. Once pork is totally covered, gently press into a flattened cake. Repeat until all arepas are ready for cooking.
- With caution, heat 1/4 cup canola oil in large sauté pan or skillet over medium heat, until hot. Working in batches, fry arepas for 5 minutes. Turn and fry and additional 5-6 minutes, until golden.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat step until all cakes are fried, adding more oil to pan if necessary.
- Bake 5-10 minutes or until arepas sound lightly hollow when tapped.
- Remove from oven and top with hogao before serving.
BOOM! You’re ready to live your Encanto life! Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for all things Disney!
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