Wednesday, October 14, 2009

pappas rellenas

sunday afternoon (at "italian time"-- which is NOT the actual, politically-correct terminology the mimer uses-- 1pm) we enjoyed an ironic native feast for columbus day. it was meant to be a peruvian feast, but apparently pappas rellenas is cuban and mexican tres leches cake was irresistible, but it was still ironic, damnit!


i remember eating something very like pappas rellenas the first time i went to a peruvian restaurant. i don't recall it being deep fried (nor were these, and that was a mistake) or spicy, but i was probably ten and it wasn't beef heart or raw fish, so i counted it a success.



ingredients:
  • 8 large potatoes
  • 1/2 finely chopped onion
  • 1 finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 4 tsp tomato paste (half a can?)
  • 1 tbs vinegar
  • 4 beaten eggs
  • bread crumbs
  • flour

prep:

  • mince & chop



actual cooking:
  • boil potatoes
  • mash with 1/2 tsp salt (no fat or liquid) and allow to cool
  • in a large frying pan, saute onions & green pepper until limpish
  • add garlic, beef, remaining salt, pepper, cumin, tomato paste & vinegar
  • cook until meat is done
  • allow to cool
  • okay, now, take a handful of potato and split it in half (i went slightly smaller than a tennis ball cause i don't have all day)
  • flatten each half
  • cup the palm of your non-dominant hand and lay one disc of potato in it
  • add a spoonful of meat
  • put the other disc on top and press into a ball
  • repeat until the potatoes are gone (you might have leftover meat-- i did)
  • roll each ball in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs-- at this point, you might enjoy enlisting the help of any uncles you have laying around while you move on to... another meal entirely (thanks, joe!)
  • chill for a couple hours
  • deep fry until golden or bake (sprayed with oil) at about 350* for a half hour or so

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