Description
These popular appetizers or street foods are made with mashed potatoes and stuffed with a savory meat filling known as picadillo. They are then shaped into a ball and fried until golden brown. The meat filling is well seasoned with a soft potato dough and an outer thin golden crust.
Ingredients
Potato Mixture:
- 3 pounds, peeled, rinsed and cut into halves
- 1½ teaspoons lite salt or to taste
- 12 cups of water or sufficient water to cover potatoes
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons margarine made with olive oil or you can use butter
- ⅓ cup of skim milk or milk of your preference
Meat Mixture:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon lite salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon dry oregano leaves
- 1 seasoning envelope with coriander and annatto
- 3 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons of my homemade sofrito made with culantro
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 3 sprigs chopped cilantro
- 6 pimiento stuffed green olives chopped
- 1 pound of ground turkey, or ground beef or ground pork
Coating Stuffed Mashed Potatoes
- Topped a saucer with sufficient cornstarch to cover both hands for shaping the stuffed potatoes into a ball
- 2 whole eggs with 1 tablespoon water, beaten
Sufficient oil to deep fry the stuffed potatoes.
Instructions
- In a saucepan, boil water and add 1½ teaspoons lite salt. Place the potatoes to the boiling potatoes and cook until tender.
- Remove from saucepan and mash them with a potato masher while they are still warm and mostly broken. You still find very small pieces of potatoes remaining in the dough.
- Add the garlic cloves, cornstarch, margarine and milk to the mashed potatoes. Stir until a dough is formed and set aside.
- For the meat mixture, add all the ingredients except for the ground meat into a skillet. Sauteé for 3 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add 1 pound of ground turkey. Coat the ground turkey completely with the tomato-oil based sauce and cook over medium heat for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently to obtain a minced or chopped texture.
- To stuff the potato, using the traditional method, place ½ cup of the potato mixture on the palm of your hand. Flattened the dough with your other hand and add 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat filling in the center.
- Lift the outer dough and cover the meat mixture.
- Cover your hands with plenty of cornstarch and roll the stuffed potato into a ball. Place on a baking pan that is lightly floured with cornstarch. The stuffed mash potatoes should be evenly coated with the cornstarch.
- In a bowl, beat 2 whole eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. Dip the Stuffed Mashed Potatoes (one at a time) into the egg wash and coat them completely. Place on the baking pan until it is time to fry them.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer or a large 4-quart saucepan to 330°F up to 365°F. Carefully place a few stuffed mashed potatoes into a deep fryer or saucepan and fry until golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove from deep fryer and place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorbe the excess oil. Serve warm. Repeat this process.
Notes
Note: Most recipes call for an egg to be added to the dough. Instead of an egg, I like to use skim milk for a smoother texture. See my step by step visual instructions or YouTube video for another method of stuffing the mashed potatoes.
In the past, these fritters were fried in a large skillet and turned over numerous times to cook them evenly. Today, I either create my own deep fryer, using a large saucepan or use an actual deep fryer. Once they are submerged completely in oil, you don’t have to turn them over.
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Keywords: Stuffed Mashed Potatoes, Rellenos de Papa, Stuffed Potatoes