Arepas are unquestionably delicious and comforting. They have become a trendy food outside Venezuela and Colombia, and for good reason! Easy to make and so tasty, filling them with assorted foods is the most fun of all. Infinitely customizable, think of these like a warm sandwich of the best kind.
Arepas are made of pre-cooked corn flour, commonly known as Harina Pan (the brand name). This is a flour made of precooked white or yellow corn. It is important to note that although arepas are quite similar to Mexican gorditas, the difference is in the flour used. Whereas arepas are made with precooked corn flour, the Mexican variety must always be made with nixtamalized corn flour. This gives them a distinctively different, texture, perhaps making arepas a bit denser, but not any less delicious.
Arepas can be eaten plain with a smear of butter or filled simply with a slice of cheese. They can be filled with scrambled eggs or ham and cheese, with pulled pork, beans or both! You see the trend here? You can fill arepas with whatever you feel like! But the queen of fillings has got to be this creamy avocado chicken mixture that bears the name of Reina Pepiada. This name is in honour of Venezuelan Miss Universe of 1955, Susana Duijm.
This delicious chicken salad can be eaten on its own, but I encourage you to make it with arepas, they are absolutely satisfying and outrageously good. Though the arepas themselves can be plain, I like to add some cheese to the dough to make these a bit more nutritious.
AREPAS DE QUESO CON REINA PEPIADA
Cheese Arepas with Avocado Chicken Salad
3 1/3 cups warm water, or more as needed
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
3 cups Harina Pan corn flour
2 cups mozzarella, Brick or Havarti cheese, grated
In medium bowl, mix water, butter and salt. Mix until butter melts and start adding corn flour, mixing with your hands until it comes together and forms a fairly moist dough that does not stick to the bowl nor your hands. Let dough rest 5 minutes, covered.
Divide dough into 1 ½” balls and flatten with your hands until they are about ¼” thick. Cook arepas over medium heat on a dry griddle or frying pan, about 4 minutes per side, or until golden. Place them in a warm oven while you cook the rest.
REINA PEPIADA
Chicken:
1200g boneless skinless chicken breast (4 pc)
1 large cooking onion, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
10 black peppercorns
2 tsp salt
Avocado Chicken Salad:
Cooked and shredded chicken (8 cups)
1 cup minced red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Jalapeños, minced (optional)
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 ripe avocados, two mashed and two diced
Juice of 1 lime, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
In medium saucepan, place chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Add enough watr to cover chicken by about 2 inches. Place on stove and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Once it starts boiling, turn down heat to low and simmer, skimming off foam as it cooks, for about 20 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches at least 165°F.
Remove chicken from liquid. Reserve liquid for another use. Let chicken cool for a few minutes, then shred finely and let cool completely.
Once chicken is cooled completely, place in large bowl and add red onion, garlic, Jalapeños (if using), mayonnaise, cilantro, avocados and lime juice, if using. Mix gently but thoroughly and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Split warm arepas in half and fill with chicken salad. Serve immediately.
Makes 16.