Papas Rellenas are creamy garlic mashed potatoes stuffed with tender ground beef and chiles then coated in panko crumbs and fried to golden brown and crunchy. Delicious!
Papas Rellenas is a Latin American treat for dinner. Make it fresh or use left overs for a quick and easy beef recipe. Your family will love them!
If you are looking for a way to use your leftover Idaho potatoes and ground beef, this is the recipe for you... ¡Papas Rellenas!
Papas Rellenas, or stuffed potatoes, is an amazing Latin dish that I have never heard of until last week. Wait... can that be true?
I have spent my entire life here —on the Southwest border —personally checking all Latin dishes for deliciousness. How did this little beauty pass under my nose without notice? I must be more vigilant!
Kathlyn of Bake Like a Ninja was our Daring Cooks' March 2011 hostess. Kathlyn challenged us to make a classic Peruvian dish called Papas Rellenas adapted from a home recipe by Kathlyn's Spanish teacher, Mayra.
Papas Rellenas (or Stuffed Potatoes) are mashed potatoes that can be stuffed with just about anything then, coated in bread crumbs and fried until golden brown. Serve them with your favorite Salsa, enchilada sauce or this authentic Peruvian Green Sauce called Aji Verde.
And while we were encouraged to be creative with the filling, I decided to see if Papas Rellenas would make a good dish for leftovers.
That IS creative for me. I'm not really a "leftover" fan. Usually, I go out of my way to make sure I don't have any leftovers at all. But, every once in a while... there they are.
This time, I actually made extra mashed potatoes and ground beef taco filling for other meals so that I would have enough leftover ingredients to see how Papas Rellenas would taste as a "round two" dish.
Let me tell you right off the bat... I'm going to make this dish again. And again... and again. My family loved it and kept asking, "How did you get the beef in there?"
So, plan for extra mashed Idaho potatoes and ground beef filling so that you will have a great remake dish in a busy week... your family will never know that the Papas Rellenos are made out of leftovers!
How to Make Papas Rellenas or Stuffed Potatoes
Here are step by step photos of how to make this Authentic Peruviani Stuffed Potatoes.
The authentic way to form the papas rellenas is in the palm of your hand. I had trouble with the potatoes sticking to my hand so, I changed the technique a little. I recommend cutting squares of plastic wrap or parchment about 10 inches long. Dust the squares with flower. You may skip the plastic wrap if using your hand works well for you.
Divide the potatoes into six portions. Spread mashed potatoes into rectangle a little larger than the palm of your hand. Spoon your filling into the center of the rectangle (if you are using leftovers, be sure to reheat the filling). Leave a ½ inch rim around the potatoes to seal the potatoes.
Lift one side of the plastic wrap and "fold" it towards the opposite edge.
Here is the genius to my madness... Bring the plastic wrap together to seal the edges, be careful not to get the filling in the "seams."
Twist the ends to tighten the plastic and shape the papas into... well, a papa (potato). Let the "potato" rest while you shape the remaining papas rellenas.
Prepare a breading station with three plates; one with flour, one with a slightly beaten egg and milk, one with panko.
Season the flour! Salt and pepper is great or think about flavors that will complement your filling, like a spice mix.
Gently. Roll the "potato" in seasoned flour.
Then, the egg mixture.
Finally, roll the "potato" in the panko or breadcrumbs.
Heat ½ inch canola or vegetable oil in a frying pan. The oil is hot enough when you add a little bit of potato and see bubbles.
Fry the "potato" until golden brown on all sides—don't forget the ends.
Drain on a paper towel.
Isn't it cute? It looks like savory "Twinkies!"
Sauce the plate and place the Papas Rellenas on top to "show them off." You may cut them on the bias (diagonal)... or leave them whole and let the filling be a surprise.
Olives and raisins are ingredients in the authentic recipe so, I used them as a garnish. I liked the flavor with the ground beef... it gave the leftovers a different flavor profile than the night before. Next time, I'll try adding the raisins and chopped olives to the taco meat when I reheat it for the Papas Rellenas.
Here are some other Papas Rellenas with interesting takes on fillings that you may want to try:
Papas Rellenas with Lobster Filling by Cheese and Chocolate
Vegetarian Papas Rellenas with Sweet Potatoes by Bake Me Away
And the many variations of Audax Artifex
Recipe for Papas Rellenas
For the authentic Peruvian Papas Rellenas please visit Kathlyn at Bake Like a Ninja
-posted by Sandy
Kathlyn gave us a wonderfully authentic Peruvian recipe so, if you are making the Papas Rellenas from scratch, please do give her recipe a try. I used garlic mashed potatoes leftover from Sunday dinner and the leftover filling from our tacos Monday night.
Papas Rellenas or Peru Stuffed Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Russet potatoes
- ¼ cup warm milk
- 4 to 5 cloves roasted garlic
- Salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 1 - 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 ounces ground beef
- 1 whole poblano or Anaheim chile, seeds, ribs and stem removed then, diced. may use 1 can diced green chiles
- 1 whole medium yellow onion, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon pure chile powder (Santa Cruz or red New Mexican would be nice), not for chili powder mix for beans.
- 1 teas ground cumin
- 2 cups flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 3 - 4 whole eggs, beaten and thinned with a tablespoon of water
- 2 - 3 cups Panko crumbs, seasoned with salt and pepper
Instructions
- Put peeled, diced potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender. Drain and return the potato chunks to the hot pan and place on the stove. Stir until the remaining moisture is evaporated. Turn out the potatoes into a large mixing bowl.
- Add butter, roasted garlic and half of the milk. Beat with an electric mixer until just blended, adding enough of the remaining milk to make them fluffy and light but, not too wet.
- Season with salt and pepper, set aside to cool.
- In a saute pan over medium high heat, cook the diced chile and onion until the onion is translucent.
- Add chile powder and cumin. Cook until done. Season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble the Papas Rellenas
- Cut squares of plastic wrap or parchment about 10 inches long. Dust the squares with flour.
- Divide the mashed potatoes into six portions. Spread mashed potatoes onto a rectangle of parchment or plastic wrap. Make the rectangle a little larger than the palm of your hand. Spoon your filling into the center of the rectangle (if you are using leftovers, be sure to reheat the filling). Leave a ½ inch rim around the potatoes to seal the potatoes.
- Lift one side of the plastic wrap and fold it over to the opposite edge. Bring the edges of the potato together and seal the edges. Be carefull not to get the ground beef into the "seam" of the potatoes.
- Roll the excess plastic/parchment around the potato forming a cylinder. Twist the ends to tighten around the papa rellena to firm it into the shape of well, a potato. Let the "potato" rest while you shape the remaining papas rellenas.
- Prepare a breading station with three plates; one with flour, one with a slightly beaten egg and milk, one with panko. Season the flour! Salt and pepper is great or think about flavors that will complement your filling.
- Gently unwrap each "potato" and roll in seasoned flour. Then, egg mixture and finally seasoned panko crumbs.
- In a large frying pan, melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just ⅓-of the way up the side of the skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.
- Add the 2 to 3 of the potatoes (depending on the size of the pan). Never let the oil go. more than ½ way up the pan. If it does, remove one of the potatoes.
- Fry the papas rellenas until golden brown on all sides and heated through. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Keep warm in the oven set to low temperature (about 170 degrees F.) while frying the others.
- Serve with salsa, enchilada sauce or sauce of your choice.
SeattleDee
Love the presentation photo, clear directions and SW ingredients in this Daring Cooks post. You've caused me to rethink my tepid response to the challenge dish. Two thumbs up on this one.
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com
Thanks for visiting my blog Sandy. You have a lovely blog. I've never tried a Peruvian recipe, and this looks so delicious 🙂
Kristi
I made these a couple nights ago & they were a hit!
Donna
Yay! So happy you liked them, Kristi!