Arepa Reina Pepiada (Chicken and Avocado Arepas)
Golden corn arepas stuffed with shredded chicken in a creamy avocado, lime and cilantro sauce.
Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.
Reina pepiada is the most famous arepa filling in Venezuela: shredded chicken folded into a creamy mix of avocado, mayonnaise, lime and cilantro. The name means something like the curvy queen, and it was created in Caracas in the 1950s in honor of Susana Duijm, the Venezuelan who was crowned Miss World in 1955.
The Thermomix® TM7™ kneads the arepa dough in one minute, poaches the chicken, shreds it on reverse in seconds and blends the avocado sauce, so the whole filling comes together in the same bowl. The arepas get a golden crust on a griddle on the stove and finish in the oven, so they are crisp outside and soft and steamy inside.
Made in the Thermomix® TM7™
Arepa Reina Pepiada (Chicken and Avocado Arepas)
Makes: 8 arepas
- Prep25 min
- Cook40 min
- Total1 h 5 min
- Serves4
Ingredients
For the arepas
For the filling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Place the water, salt and oil in the mixing bowl, add the masarepa and knead 1 min/dough mode. Let the dough rest 5 minutes; it should feel soft and smooth, like play dough.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces (about 105 g each), roll them into balls and flatten them into 10 cm (4 in) discs about 1.5 cm (1/2 in) thick, smoothing any cracks on the edges with wet fingers.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or cast-iron skillet on the stove over medium heat. Cook the arepas 5 to 6 minutes per side, until they have a golden crust, then move them to a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes, until they sound hollow when you tap them.
- While the arepas cook, rinse the mixing bowl and add the chicken, water and salt. Cook 20 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft, until the chicken reaches 74°C (165°F) in the center. Lift it out onto a board, discard the water and let the chicken cool 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the empty mixing bowl and shred 4 sec/reverse/speed 4. Transfer it to a plate.
- Without washing the bowl, add the onion, garlic and cilantro and chop 4 sec/speed 6. Scrape down the sides, add the avocados, mayonnaise, lime juice, salt and pepper and blend 15 sec/speed 4, until creamy.
- Add the shredded chicken and mix 10 sec/reverse/speed 2. Taste and add salt or lime if needed.
- Cut each hot arepa open along one side with a knife, leaving a hinge like a pita, and stuff it generously with the reina pepiada.
Tips
- Masarepa absorbs water a little differently from brand to brand. If the edges crack when you flatten the dough, knead in water a tablespoon at a time; if it sticks to your hands, add a spoonful of masarepa.
- The filling keeps 2 days in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed on the surface, so the avocado stays green.
- Cooked arepas freeze well. Reheat them straight from the freezer in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for 12 to 15 minutes.
