Papa Rellena (Homemade, with Beef) (2024)

Papa Rellena

Tasty crispy Papa Rellena. They are large, juicy, and filled with seasoned ground beef with delicious flavors. You can find this traditional recipe from Peruvian cuisine on every street side, and now you can easily make them yourself. A delicious fast food recipe.

Author: Andréa

Outside:

• 2.2 lb potatoes
• 1 egg size L
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

For the filling

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced or passed through a press
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 red chili pepper finely diced, deseeded
• 9 oz. ground beef
• 3 oz. raisins soaked in 1 cup (240 ml) boiling water for 10 minutes, then minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin ground
• ½ teaspoon sweet paprika ground
• ¼ cup white wine water or beef stock for deglazing
• 3 eggs size L, boiled
• ⅓ teaspoon salt to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Final preparation:

• 1 egg size L, beaten
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• sunflower oil for frying

US Customary - Metric

Mashed potatoes

• Boil the potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Remove them from the water and cool.

  2.2 lb potatoes

• Once the potatoes are cooled, peel them and mash them with a potato masher or force them through a potato ricer (preferred).

• Add egg, salt, and pepper and knead “dough” thoroughly to ensure that ingredients are well combined and uniformly distributed.

  1 egg, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

• While the potatoes cool down before finishing the dough, you can make the filling. Make sure you cool the potatoes to room temperature (or fridge temperatures), for the best results.

Filling

• Gently brown onion and garlic in oil (about 5 minutes).

  2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic

• Add the pepper and fry for a couple more minutes.

  1 red chili pepper

• Put the ground beef into the skillet and brown. Add raisins, cumin, and paprika and fry briefly (a few seconds).

  9 oz. ground beef, 3 oz. raisins, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon sweet paprika

• Deglaze the pan with white wine.

  ¼ cup white wine

• Add hard-boiled eggs and fold in off heat to allow the filling to cool before forming “papas.”

  3 eggs

• Flavor with salt and pepper.

  ⅓ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Prepare Papas Rellena

• Spoon a generous amount of filling into the center and then roll the potato closed, forming a smooth, potato-shaped casing around the filling.

• Repeat with all dough (you should have about 6 papas).

• Use three small bowls to prepare the papas. In one, combine flour, cayenne, and salt. In the second, a beaten egg with a tiny bit of water. Put bread crumbs in the third.

  1 cup all-purpose flour, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground, ⅛ teaspoon salt

• Dip each papa in the three bowls to coat: first roll in flour, then dip in egg, then roll in bread crumbs.

  1 egg, 1 cup dry bread crumbs

Baking

• Heat the deep fryer to 375 °F (190 °C).

  sunflower oil

• Fry the papas (in batches if necessary) for about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

• Flip once in the middle of frying to brown both sides. Drain on a paper towel.

1. Potatoes - Use floury potatoes to make this recipe. Russet, Doré, King Edward, and Maris Piper are great choices.

2. White wine - Use dry white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. TIP: did you know that wines from Peru are also available as Sauvignon Blanc?

3. - Substitutes

Ground beef - Instead of ground beef, you can also use half pork and half ground beef or ground chicken. If you want to make this recipe without meat, choose vegetarian mince, like Quorn.

4. Bake

If you don't have a deep fryer (they're really the best fried), you could use an oven. Place the papas rellenas on a baking plate lined with baking paper and bake the rellena for 20 minutes at 450 °F (230 °C) until heated through.

5. - Store

• Refrigerator - Keep the papa rellena covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat: If they are still un-fried, you can do that for 3 minutes on both sides at 375 °F (190 °C). Is your Papa Rellena already baked? Then heat them for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 390 °F (200 °C).
• Freezer - Store the Papas Rellenas in a freezer bag (one piece in each bag) and keep it in the freezer for three months. After that, you can fry them directly from the freezer. Then extend the frying time by 3 minutes.

6. - The nutritional values are shown per person. This recipe is enough for six people.