Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Reina Pepiada Arepas

4.6

(14)

Image may contain Food Bread Burger Pita and Sandwich
Reina Pepiada ArepasBen Fink

Arepas define Venezuelan cooking. These thick cornmeal patties are griddled, then baked, and then stuffed while warm with anything from white cheese to this zesty chicken salad with avocado mayonnaise (Johan Santana's first choice). The salad is named in honor of Susana Duijm, Miss World in 1955 and a popular Venezuelan celebrity. (Reina means "queen" in Spanish, and pepiada is perhaps most politely translated as "curvy.") The recipe comes from Maribel Araujo of New York's always-packed Caracas Arepa Bar in the East Village and her executive chef, Ilse Parra.

Note: For arepas, you must use precooked cornmeal (labeled harina or harina precocida), imported from Venezuela. American cornmeal or corn flour and Mexican masa harina will not work. The most popular brand of precooked cornmeal is P.A.N., found at Latino markets or online. Use white (blanco) cornmeal only.

Note:

**

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Béchamel Sauce
This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.
Caramelized Onion Pasta
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Butternut Squash–Kale Salad With Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.
Crème Anglaise
The silky French vanilla sauce that goes with everything.
Our Favorite French Onion Soup
Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.
Mascarpone Cheesecake
An extra-silky filling (no water bath needed!) and a smooth sour cream topping make this the ultimate cheesecake.
Vodka Gochujang Pasta
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Okonomiyaki Tater Tots
Crispy tots topped with savory-sweet sauce, mayonnaise, furikake, scallion, and katsuobushi.