Stuffed potatoes: the Cuban recipe, step by step

Today I want to  share a Cuban recipe, a classic on our mom’s menus, made of potatoes and mincemeat. I used to help my grandmother when she prepared them, no matter if the result were a little bit different of their perfectly round balls. I always insisted to eat the stuffed potatoes were prepared by myself, and I would enjoy so much elaborating them and later eaten them. I only participated at the moment of forming the balls, during the rest of the process I only used to watch and ask.

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Ingredients to prepare Stuffed potatoes: the Cuban recipe (4 persons)

 5 potatoes

40 g butter (optional)

2  beaten eggs

bread crumbs for breading

250 g mincemeat

1 onion

4 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 tsp dry oregano

1/2 tsp dry thyme

4 filled tbsp fry tomato sauce

2 tbsp oil

salt

black pepper

How to prepare Stuffed potatoes: the Cuban recipe

1. Season the mincemeat with salt and black pepper to taste. Mix it with the crushed garlic, the oregano and the thyme.
2. Heat the oil, add the onion and the red bell pepper, both finally chopped, leave them for a few minutes.
3. Once the onion transparences incorporate the meat until it golden, then add the tomato sauce (you can use natural crushed tomato). Stir very well in order to integrate every ingredient with the mincemeat and let it cook for 8-10 minutes. Cook the meat with a cover if it is dry, if it has lot of liquid cook it without the cover.
4. When the mincemeat has cooked, take it out into another recipient and put aside while we prepare the potatoes puree.

Keep in mind the stuffing should be more solid than in other preparations, because here the matter is make our work easier when we form the balls.

Let´s work our potato balls

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling water with salt to taste for 10 minutes, depending on how large or small you have cut the potatoes.
2. Make puree, add butter or not, check the salt and let it refresh no cool.
   

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3. Then, with help of a large spoon take first a portion, enough to form a ball, sculpt so that you make a hole in the centre in order to fill with a small spoon of our mincemeat.
   

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4. With the other hand take a smaller portion of puree, form a round layer and cover the filled ball, keep molding until you get a round ball, but don´t worry if it isn´t perfectly round at first time. Later it´ll catch a better form.
   

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5. When you have finished all the balls the puree has permitted to form (8-12), it is the moment to breading them: pass them first for the beaten egg with a pinch of salt and then for the breadcrumb . It is in this part of the process when you´ll see how your balls end taking the right form without bigger complications.
   

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6. Put them into the fridge at least for 10 minutes while you prepare a salad or any other accompaniment you prefer.
7. Fry the potatoes in abundant oil (wait the oil heat very well in order to avoid the balls break). Once they golden turn around, let golden again and take them out.
   

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Serve them with a salad of Roman lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and red onion seasoned with a sweet mustard vinaigrette. It´s very easy: 2 1/2 tbsp mustard, 2 tsp honey, a trickle of Jerez Vinegar, 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, all very well mixed until the ingredients blended.

If you decide to try this recipe, it´ll be better you do it in advance. You can prepare the mincemeat while you prepare the puree. Remember let the puree refresh but not completely cool. With respect to the breading, if the bread is very thin, sometimes it is necessary to repeat the breading, so later they will fry better and you’ll avoid they absorb more fat, even if this could seen paradoxical. And no more for today: prepare soon this recipe and tell me then. Happy weekend! 🙂

Etiquetas: breadcrumb, butter, Cuban recipe, garlic, mincemeat, onion, orégano, puree, recipe step by step, red bell pepper, stuffed potatoes, sweet mustard vinaigrette, thyme, tomato sauce