Venezuelan arepas with chicken and avocado – reina pepiada

Ingredients

• 320 g (2 cups) pre-cooked corn flour
• 625 ml (2 1/2 cups) room-temperature water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Chicken:

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

Avocado cream:

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

Preparation

• Add the room-temperature water, salt, and oil to a bowl. Stir well. Gradually add the 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 them over and cook for a further 7 minutes or so. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and leave the arepas to rest for 5 minutes. Check that they are cooked through (see observations).
• Let the arepas cool a little, then cut them through the middle and fill them with the filling of your choice. We'll explain 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.
• Chicken:
  Cook the chicken for 10 minutes once the water comes to a boil. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the saucepan and leave to cool. You can then shred 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 fill the arepas. All set!

Observations

To check if the arepas are cooked, you can tap them: if they make a hollow sound, they're ready.

You can keep your arepas for up to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
You can freeze the raw dough or the cooked arepas.

If you don't use the avocado cream immediately after making it, add a little lemon or lime juice to prevent oxidation.

Cookware

Questions

Photos of members who cooked this recipe