Arepas Reina Pepiada (Chicken & Avocado Stuffed Arepas)

Crisp-shelled, fluffy corn arepas split and stuffed with a creamy, garlicky chicken and avocado salad. It's Caracas's 'curvy queen' and a lunch that disappears fast.

Ingredients

• 2 cups masarepa (precooked white corn flour)
• 2½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 2 ripe avocados
• ¼ onion, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• ½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 lime (or lemon), juiced

From your pantry: ⅓ cup mayonnaise, 3 tbsp oil, salt, pepper.

Instructions

1. Stir 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp oil into 2¼ cups warm water, then gradually add the masarepa, mixing until a smooth, soft dough forms with no lumps. Rest 5 minutes.
2. Divide into 6 balls and flatten each into a disc about ¾ inch thick, smoothing any cracked edges with damp fingers.
3. Cook in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat, covered, until crusty and golden, about 6 minutes per side. They should sound hollow when tapped. Keep warm in a 300°F oven if you like.
4. Meanwhile, mash the avocados with the lime juice, then mix in the mayonnaise, onion, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper. Fold in the chicken.
5. Slice each arepa open along one side to make a pocket, without cutting all the way through, and stuff generously with the filling.

Tip: Use P.A.N. or another precooked masarepa, not masa harina or cornmeal; the dough won't hold together otherwise. The filling keeps a day if you press plastic wrap on its surface.

Nutrition per serving

Good for

Adapted from Laylita's Recipes.

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