AREPAS WITH BLACK BEANS & SALSA VERDE

❚ 300 g fine cornmeal (I use the P. A.N. brand)

❚ 1 heaped tsp of sea salt

❚ 1 tbsp olive oil

For the black beans:

❚ Olive oil

❚ 1 tsp cumin seeds

❚ A large bunch of cilantro, stalks and leaves chopped

❚ 1 tsp smoked paprika

❚ 2 x 400 g tins of black beans (or 500 g home-cooked beans)

❚ 1 green chili, finely chopped

For the pickled red onions:

❚ 1 red onion, halved and very thinly sliced

❚ Juice of 1 lime

❚ Pinch of flaky sea salt

For the Mexican salsa verde:

❚ 150 g block of feta or vegan-style feta cheese

❚ Small bunch of cilantro, leaves picked

❚ 3–4 tbsp olive oil

❚ Zest and juice of 1 lime

❚ 1 green chili

To serve:

❚ Cilantro leaves

❚ A small bunch of radishes, thinly sliced

❚ A couple of limes for squeezing over

❚ Crumbled feta

1. Add the red onion to a small bowl with the juice of a lime and a pinch of sea salt, then scrunch together with your hands so they start to become a bright pink colour. Put to one side to lightly pickle.

2. To prepare the dough, place the cornmeal, sea salt, oil and 400-450 ml of boiling water into a bowl. Allow to sit for about a minute to let the water absorb into the cornmeal a little. Then carefully mix the dough with your hands until combined. You want it to come together a bit like Play-doh. It shouldn’t be crumbly. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes or up to 30 if you have time.

3. To make the black beans, add a little olive oil to a medium frying pan and, once hot, add the cumin seeds, cilantro stalks and paprika for 1 minute. Then add the black beans with the liquid from the can and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and then add the chopped green chili and cilantro leaves.

4. For the salsa verde, put 30 g of the feta and half the cilantro leaves into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients and blitz until you have a deep green, slightly creamy salsa. Season to taste then set aside for serving.

5. Once your dough has rested (it should clean the bowl and be easy to work with), pull off golf ball-sized pieces and form 8 cm by 1 cm-thick patties (you should be able to make 10). Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and once hot add the arepas and put the lid on, cooking on a medium heat for 7 minutes on each side until they are golden brown on both sides. Place in a warm oven while you continue to fry the rest of the arepas.

6. Finish the black beans with the chopped green chili and the cilantro leaves. Serve the arepas while they are warm, split open and fill with a spoonful of the black beans, some salsa, radishes, pickled red onions, a squeeze of lime juice and a crumble of the remaining feta.

Serves: 4–6 (makes about 10 arepas)