Somewhere between a pupusa and a biscuit, arepa bread is the go-to sandwich bread in Colombia and Venezuela. Crispy on the outside and soft inside, our arepas are stuffed with One Potato organic barbecued pulled chicken, crunchy curtido slaw and sharp Oaxaca cheese. Arepas are also super easy to make. Served up alongside an avocado topped with roasted corn salsa, you’ll have as much fun making this meal as you will eating it!
Arepas with Latin BBQ Chicken & Sweet Corn Avocado Cups
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Category
Weekly Meals
Author:
Chef Catherine
Ingredients
Arepa dough (Maseca (ground cooked corn-flour), water, queso fresco, vegetable oil, salt)
Classic option: BBQ pulled chicken (chicken breasts braised in reduced white wine with tomatoes, onions,garlic, Mexican chile, cumin, coriander, aromatic spices, cilantro)
Vegan option: Gardein veggie chicken strips with Latin bbq sauce (Tomatoes, onions, garlic, Mexican chile, cumin, coriander, aromatic spices, brown sugar, cilantro)
Curtido slaw (Cabbages, carrots, red onions, lime juice, raw cane sugar, vegetable oil, guajillo chili)
Avocados
Limes
Long grain brown rice
- Persian cucumber
Avocado
Roasted corn salsa (Sweet corn, roasted piquillo peppers, red onions, champagne vinegar, lime juice, raw sugar, toasted cumin seed, cilantro)
Oaxaca cheese (Vegan option: no cheese)
Directions
On a lightly floured surface, portion the arepa dough into pieces approximately ⅓ cup in size. Roll each piece into a ball, then shape into a circle about 3-4” wide and ¾” thick.
Lightly coat the bottom of a large sauté pan with oil and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the each arepa, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Flip the arepas over, cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden on both sides. Remove the arepas from the pan and let them cool on a cooling rack.*
- Place the BBQ chicken (and its liquid) in a sauce pot and set over low-to-medium heat. Cover and simmer and cook for 3-5 additional minutes or until heated through.
Halve the avocados lengthwise and remove the pit by tapping the heel of your knife, then twisting gently until the stone comes out. Using a spoon, carefully scoop out the avocado flesh whole (if preferred, you can leave the flesh in its shell and serve them that way), and season lightly with salt.
Cut the limes in half and squeeze the juice over the top of the avocados. Spoon the roasted corn salsa into the centers of the avocado halves.
Split each arepa in half lengthwise with a bread knife. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the sauce and scoop about ⅓ of cup of meat on the bottom half of each arepa.
Top the chicken with the Oaxaca cheese followed by some curtido slaw. Serve arepas accompanied by the roasted corn avocado cups.
Enjoy!
Recipe Note
Tip
If you don’t have a cooling rack you can use the rack from your oven or toaster oven. This prevents the arepas from steaming themselves and getting soggy on the bottom.
Getting the Kids Involved
Kids can help portion the dough and shape the arepas. They can also sprinkle salt and squeeze lime juice on the avocados and spoon the corn salad into the avocado halves.
Encouraging Picky Eaters
Instead of assembling your child’s arepa, offer them a sampling of each component (chicken, arepa, slaw, avocado, corn) and ask them to taste each one separately and rate their favorites. Then they can make their own arepa the way they like!
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