Trying new foods is a great way to experience a country and its culture. If you’ve wanted to experience Colombia and all it has to offer, you’ll be excited to learn about the new Adventures by Disney trip to Colombia. This trip is an excellent introduction to the country’s fantastic food, friendly people, joyful music, and astonishing natural beauty. The country also served as inspiration for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto,” which introduced us to Mirabel and the entire Madrigal family!

One of the highlights of the trip is the opportunity to learn to make arepas – a traditional Colombian dish – just like Julieta Madrigal, Mirabel’s mom, did for her family in the film. Just thinking about it made us hungry for arepas! So, we had to ask Colombian-born Disney Chef Danny Contreras for an arepa recipe – a favorite from the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival recipe vault.

Arepas start with three simple ingredients: pre-cooked corn flour, water, and a little fat, such as butter, to bind the dough together. They can be made savory or sweet with meat or cheese. Chef Danny loves to make arepas with his daughter as a way to share his Colombian heritage. Chef Danny’s father was known for saying, “A meal without an arepa isn’t a complete meal.”

The recipe we have for you today is filled with pork rillettes, a cooking style for the pork, and topped with hogao, a Colombian tomato-based sauce with garlic and cumin.

Here is a delicious arepa recipe for you to get a taste of Colombia from your own home. Included on the recipe is artwork of Julieta, drawn specially for you by Disney Animation Supervisor Michael Woodside.

Download Full Size PDF of Recipe

Chef Danny recently chatted with Thomas Mazloum, president of Disney Signature Experiences, about arepas and the new Adventures by Disney trip to Colombia.