Papas Aplastadas Crushed Potatoes Recipes

PAPAS RELLENAS (FRIED STUFFED POTATOES)

Steps:

• Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and allow to steam dry for a minute or two. Mash in a bowl with 1/2 teaspoon salt until no lumps remain. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onion, green pepper, and garlic in the hot skillet until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, and stir in the ground beef. Cook and stir until the beef is crumbly and no longer pink. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, pepper, tomato paste, and vinegar until the tomato paste has dissolved. Scrape into a mixing bowl, and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or waxed paper, and set aside. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl, and set aside. Pour the bread crumbs and flour into separate, shallow dishes, and set aside.
• Once the potatoes and beef have cooled, form the potato balls: grab a handful of mashed potatoes, and split into two equal portions. Form each piece into a small bowl shape, and fill with the ground beef mixture. Place the two halves together, seal the edges, and smooth to make a round ball. Gently roll the ball in the flour to coat and shake off the excess flour. Dip into the beaten egg, then gently roll in bread crumbs. Gently toss between your hands so any bread crumbs that haven't stuck can fall away. Place the breaded potato balls onto the prepared baking sheet while breading the rest. Refrigerate 2 to 4 hours, or freeze for later use.
• To cook, heat the oil for frying in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cook the potato balls in the hot oil in batches, using tongs to roll the balls around as they cook to ensure even browning, until crispy and golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate before serving.

PAPAS APLASTADAS (CRUSHED POTATOES)

Steps:

• Cover potatoes with lightly salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat and drain.
• While the potatoes are cooking, sauté chopped bacon in a large frying pan until crispy. Remove bacon bits but do not drain the oil. Add the green pepper and a little olive oil to the pan and sauté until tender. Add the minced garlic and sauté an additional minute.
• Lightly grease a jelly roll pan, pizza pan, or baking sheet; you need a flat pan with a raised edge that can go under the broiler. Arrange the cooked potatoes on the pan. Spray the bottom of a coffee cup with vegetable spray and use the bottom to smash the potatoes until they are crushed and flattened in a thin layer that more or less covers the bottom of the pan. Note: Crush -- do not mash -- the potatoes! They should look like you dropped them on the floor, NOT like you ran over them with your SUV.
• Drizzle the potatoes liberally with olive oil and sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper and cumin. The amounts listed in the ingredients are approximate. The best way is to start conservatively, taste a bite of the potatoes, and add more spices are needed! Top the potatoes with the green pepper, green onion and bacon bits.
• Evenly spread the grated cheese over the top of the potatoes. Place in the oven under the broiler at the LOW setting. You want to bring the dish back up to serving temperature and melt the cheese. The potatoes should look gooey and bubbling with the cheese lightly browned on top.
• Make sure you keep the pan low enough (NOT the top rack!) so that the cheese isn't immediately scorched. This dish needs only a few minutes for the cheese to melt and brown slightly, so watch it carefully. Once hot and bubbly, remove from broiler and serve immediately.

PAPAS: POTATOES

Steps:

• I use the heaviest pan in my home. Cast iron works the best but the Dutch oven works, too.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Stir the bacon and sausage on medium heat until halfway cooked. Add the potatoes, onion, and garlic. Stir to combine and add the spices. Cook another 5 minutes and place pan or pot into the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir the papas once or twice to avoid any sticking and to get some yummy color. Warm up tortillas. Prepare eggs. Take papas out of oven and serve steaming hot with cheese, chile sauce, eggs, tortillas and giggles.
• In a large saute pan heat olive oil and add onions, garlic, chiles and salt. Saute until onions are translucent and chiles have begun to soften. Stir in soups and cook until it bubbles. In a blender or with an immersion blender, puree for 30 seconds.

PAN-FRIED STUFFED POTATOES (CUBAN PAPAS RELLENAS)

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef with onions and garlic in the hot skillet until beef is browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease. Turn heat down to medium-low. Add tomato sauce and wine and let simmer. Stir in olives. Season with salt and pepper; adjust the seasonings per taste.
• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and mash potatoes, then set aside to cool.
• Separate the egg yolks from the whites into two bowls. Mix the egg yolks into the cooled mashed potato mixture. Whisk the egg whites for 1 minute.
• Take 1/4 cup of the mashed potatoes and form into a ball. Make a dent in the ball, to give it more of a bowl shape. Fill the indentation with 1 tablespoon of the meat mixture, and then reseal it.
• Reshape the potato as a ball again. Dip the ball in the egg whites, then roll the ball around in bread crumbs until coated. Repeat with remaining potato and meat mixture. For a better coating, or for a crunchier texture, you may dip the ball into the egg whites again and coat it with another layer of bread crumbs. Refrigerate the potato balls for at least 4 hours before frying.
• Pour enough oil into a skillet or frying pan to cover half of the potato balls. Heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Working in batches, place several balls into the frying pan and cook on each side until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, taking care not to overcook. Drain the stuffed potatoes in a single layer on paper towels.