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| A shot of the inside! |
They are pretty tough to master without having them fall apart during the stuffing or cooking stage. There are a lot of instructions in here on how to really dry the potatoes out, but having never done this before it was quite tricky to get the right moisture balance. Nevertheless, these were really good and the topping was delicious with it! I decided to bake them instead of fry them (al horno = in the oven), because all we had was fried food in the latter part of our Colombian travels and I needed a break. The adaptation still left them crispy which was good! You can also serve this with a kind of ketchup/mayo sauce they use down there or a guacamole salsa combo (you can easily make both of these at home), or it was just good plain with the topping!
Ingredients:
5 potatoes
2 garlic cloves minced
1 red onion (1/2 diced very small, 1/2 sliced thinly into strips)
1 tomato (1/2 finely chopped, 1/2 sliced thinly into strips)
Red wine vinegar
1 lime
1⁄4 cup of dark raisins
1⁄4 cup of carrots diced small
1⁄4 cup of cooked peas
1⁄2 cup of beef cut in small pieces (I used 1 lb. ground beef)
1⁄4 boiled egg
1/8 cup of fresh roasted peanuts
8 olives
1⁄2 cup of beef broth
Salt and pepper
Cilantro or parsley chopped
Oil
Directions:
1. Try to get at least two potato varieties and boil them in separate pots, starting with cold water and adding salt to water. Once they are boiled strain the water and return the pot to the stove on low heat to remove any moisture. Let the potatoes cool down and peel them.
2. While the potatoes cook, brown the beef and set aside.
3. Mash the potatoes with a fork mixing both varieties trying to get a consistent texture while making sure they are neither sticky nor dry. In case they are sticky use some flour to get the right consistency as you did during the class. If dry add more potato. Season the potato mix with salt and pepper (use a bit as they can taste bland). Set aside.
4. Heat a pan on medium high heat and add a couple circles of oil. Add the chopped onions and cook until light golden brown. Add garlic, chopped tomatoes and salt and cook for 5 minutes on medium low heat. Then add raisins, carrots, peas, cilantro, peanuts, pepper and beef broth. Mix well
and let cook all together for 10 minutes. Let sit for an hour before using.
5. Take a hand of potato mix and shape it flattened in your palm. It should be about the size of your hand. Take a spoon and place the stuffing in the middle, adding a 1/8 of an egg and a couple of olive strips. Then shape it like an egg making sure all of the stuffing is covered with potato.
6. Preheat oven to 375. Coat the balls in egg and seasoned panko/breadcrumb mixure and place on a well oiled baking sheet. Spray the tops of each ball with oil and bake for 10 minutes, flipping halfway and re-spraying before baking another 10 minutes.
7. You can make the topping at any point by combining the strips of onion and tomato with salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and lime juice to taste. It should be fairly tart. Mix well and refrigerate until ready to use.
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