• Place the masarepa and salt into a large bowl, and stir well.
• Drizzle the olive oil over the masarepa.
• Add the warm water to the bowl, and mix thoroughly to form a soft dough.  I find it easier to do this with my hands
  
• Cover with a clean cloth and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 8 - 10 balls. The dough should not stick to your hands, nor should it crack when you try to shape it. If either of these happens, you may need to add sightly more water or flour to get the correct consistency.
• Take a dough ball and pat it out into a 10 cm wide round. The finished round should be about 1.5cm thick. I find it easiest to do this by placing the dough onto a small cutting board and patting it into shape.
• Repeat with the remaining balls.
• You can freeze the arepas at this point, or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To cook the arepas:

• Preheat the oven to 195C (175C fan forced)
• Preheat a heavy fry pan or grill plate over medium heat.
• Place the arepas on the preheated fry pan, and allow to sit or 3 - 4 minutes. The arepas are ready to turn when the base has turned a slightly darker colour, small brown patches are visible across the surface, and they lift easily from the surface of the fry pan.
• Flip the arepas and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
• Place the browned arepas on a lined baking tray, and bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until they sound hollow when tapped.
• Remove from the oven, and split with a small serrated knife, leaving a 'hinge' at the base of the arepa to contain the filling.
• Enjoy whilst hot.