Venezuelan arepas with chicken and avocado - reina pepiada

Ingredients

• 2 cups pre-cooked corn flour
• 2 and 1/2 cups tempered water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Chicken:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Pepper
• Salt
• Herbs de Provence (bay leaf, thyme, rosemary): to taste
• 1 tomato (optional)

Avocado cream:

• 2 avocados
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• a little milk (optional)

Preparation

• Add tempered water, salt and oil in a bowl. Stir well. Gradually add corn flour, stirring constantly with a fork. Finish kneading the dough with your hands for a few minutes to avoid lumps.
  
  Leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate.
• Lightly moisten your palms to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Divide the dough into approximately 10 portions. Start by forming balls from the dough pieces, then flatten them to form dough disks.
• Pour a little oil into a frying pan and cook the arepas for 7 minutes over medium heat. Turn over and cook for a further 7 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and leave the bread to rest for 5 minutes. Check that the loaves are cooked through (see comments below).
• Let the rolls cool a little, then cut them down the center and top with the filling of your choice. We'll tell you how to make our chicken and avocado filling next:
• In a saucepan filled with water, add a peeled and halved onion, the whole washed tomato, peppercorns, herbes de Provence, minced garlic and the chicken, seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat through.
• Chicken:
  Cook the chicken for 10 minutes when the water begins to boil. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and leave to cool. You can then fray the chicken with a fork or your fingers, whichever you prefer :-)
• Avocado cream:
  Place the avocado flesh and mayonnaise in a chopper or glass suitable for an immersion blender.
  If you prefer a more fluid cream, feel free to add a little milk or chicken cooking water.
• Mix the chicken with the avocado cream and top the arepa breads. All set!