Papa Rellena

Papa rellena is a similar to the American mashed potato. The main difference is that in the middle it has a delicious ground beef center. It is a comfort food that is enjoyed by individuals of all ages. It is very similar to an empanada.

References

• Servings: 8
• Preparation: 1 hr

Ingredients

• 2lbs of white potatoes.
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 eggs (three will need to be hardboiled while keeping the other fresh)
• 6 tablespoons of oil
• ½ pound of ground beef
• 1 cup of chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove (prepare by mincing)
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 6 seedles black olives (prepare the olives by cutting into quarters)
• ½ cup of tomato (prepare the tomato by peeling, deseeding and dicing)
• 1 teaspoon of minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon of minced cilantro
• ¼ cup of raisins

Preparation

• Wash the potatoes and then place them in a medium size pan in salted water. Bring the water to a boil. Cook the potatoes until they are soft. Then remove the potatoes and peel them.
• Put the potatoes through a strainer. Let the potatoes cool and then add 1 egg and mix it in until it is both soft and smooth.
• In a large skillet pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil and cook the onion and garlic until they are golden.
• Add the ground beef and tomatoes to the skillet and cook for five minutes. Then add parsley, cilantro, olives, hardboiled eggs and raisins. Continue to season with salt, pepper and paprika.
• With flowered hands take roughly ½ cup of potato mixture and place it in the palm of your hand. Flatten it out and then add I tablespoon of filling in the center. Fold the potato mixture, closing it by carefully pressing on the outside edges. (repeat this process with the rest of the potatoes and filling)
• Heat oil in a medium size pan and fry papa rellena until they are golden brown.
• This can be served with sides of white rice, hot sauce or onion creole sauce.