Yesterday a Colombian friend came for lunch and made arepas, to show me how. Not as hard as I'd thought! She followed the proportions on the package (we used PAN corn flour, which is precooked and then dried and ground), but the secret is to knead it firmly for as long as it takes to get a plasticine or Playdoh like texture. It should be damp but not wet, firm and heavier than it looks.It shouldn't come off on your hands. Roll them into fist-sized balls and flatten between 2 layers of plastic film or wax paper. She dry-fried the ones we ate for lunch and split them, stuffing with fillings of our choice.

The masa can be kept for a couple of days wrapped in plastic in the fridge; today I fried the leftovers lightly in olive oil and for my money they are tastier than pancakes!! No need for buttery spread, just jam or syrup or whatever you fancy. YUMBLES.

It's all in the kneading. She says her sister can pat them out in her hands like Mexican tortillas, but admitted she herself always used the plastic-film option! I think, if you rolled the masa out thinly and fried it, you'd have very nice home-made cornchips.