Llapingachos (Cheesy potato cakes)

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Llapingachos, fried

Llapingachos, rolled in yellow cornmeal, ready to fry
They are this colour becuase I fried off the onions in oil coloured with annatto powder

This mountain dish from Ecuador can be served as a first course or as an accompaniment. These are very moorish!

Ingredients

• 900g potatoes, peeled and sliced
• Salt
• 60g butter
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 225g Cheddar cheese, grated
• Yellow cornmeal for dusting
• Oil, butter or annatto oil, for frying

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft.
2. Drain and mash.
3. Heat the butter and sauté the onions.
4. Add the onions to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
5. Shape the potatoes into 12 balls.
6. Divide the cheese into 12 parts and stuff each of the potato balls with the cheese, flattening them as you do so into cakes or patties about 2.5cm thick.
7. Roll them in a plate of yellow cornmeal
8. Chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
9. In enough butter or oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan, sauté the potato cakes until they are golden brown on both sides.

Serving suggestions

Serve as a first course with lettuce and slices of avocado and tomato.

Serve as part of a main course with fried slices of fish such as bass with rice and salad.

Variations

The cheese can be mixed with the mashed potatoes rather than used as a stuffing.

Chef's notes

If you don't have annatto oil you can always blend a big pinch of annatto seeds and add the powder to the oil before frying. It certainly gives them a nice colour.

I rolled mine in a little yellow cornmeal because I love the finish it gives to fried potatoes. Annatto seeds are used as colouring cheeses such as Cheddar, Red Leicester etc.