Recipe By Chef Jose Garces, Chifa Restaurant

What's an Arepa? Think pita pocket made with corn flour. Once you get the hang of making these, in addition to Chef's Garces' chicken salad, use your imagination to fill them with salads, sliced tomatoes or even a veggie burger.

Recipe taken from WHYY's A Chef's Guide to Good Cooking.

Serves 2

Ingredients

For the Arepa:

• ½ cup white corn flour
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ¼ cup grated Queso Fresco (white cheese)
• 2 cups hot water

For the Chicken Salad:

• ½ breast of chicken grilled and cut in slices
• 2 tablespoons scallions chopped
• chives chopped
• 1 red pepper diced
• 2 mangoes diced
• ½ green apple diced and kept in lemon water until ready to use
• 1 avocado peeled and sliced
• 1 plum tomato, sliced
• ½ of a lime
• Olive oil

Directions

1. To Prepare the Arepa: Mix all ingredients by hand into a smooth mixture. Form round ½-inch thick patties. Grill patties on both sides for approximately 2-3 minutes until golden brown, slice it open lengthwise.

2. To Prepare the Chicken Salad: Mix top 6 ingredients in a bowl and season with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, juice from ½ a lime and chopped cilantro.

3. Add chicken salad to the arepa slices, top with tomato and avocado slices drizzle with olive oil and
season with salt and pepper to taste. As an alternative substitute arepa with romaine leaves.