boston, meet llapingachos.

i've referenced llapingachos maybe more than once.  if you know me in real life it's likely that i've mentioned them many a time.  even though i recently feasted upon them in ecuador, it still wanted em!  plus i wanted cait (my roommate) to experience their glory.

so lets just think about how potatoes are really high up in my favorite foods.  i love potatoes in every form. now, lets think about how mashed potatoes are my favorite form of potatoes.  the potato king.  okay, now lets talk about how things are better when they're cripsy and browned.  oh, and we can't forget about how cheese makes everything more delicious.  so, are you ready to behold the glory of llapingachos?

make some mashed potatoes, form them into cheese filled patties, fry the patties on both sides.  SERIOUSLY.  i'm gonna have to say that the ecuadorians do this better than the jews.  its a wonder that llapingachos haven't globalized more.

the recipe i use is from one of the best websites ever to be created, but i shall post my version of it here.  thank you laylita.


llapingachos.

ingredients.
5 russets, peeled and cut into chunks
2 T achiote oil (i will explain this in a post soon i promise)
1/2 of a white onion, finely chopped
salt to taste
1 c shredded monterey jack cheese

directions.
1.  boil the potatoes in salted water until a fork easily goes into them.
2.  saute the onions in the oil over medium-high heat until the onions are soft (perhaps 5 minutes).
3.  mash together the onions and potatoes til you get orange mashed potatoes! let it sit for about an hour.
4.  form the potates into balls perhaps the size of a plum.  make a hole in the center, fill it with cheese, then seal the hole.  squoosh the balls into little round patties.  let them rest in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
5.  heat up a nonstick skillet but don't oil it.  cook the llapingachos until browned on both sides.  they can be finicky.  i will bestow what advice i have.  let them sit for about 5 minutes before even touching them.  then when you want to flip them, make a quick, smooth jab under them because the delicious crispy brown part has a  tendency to want to stay on the pan.  let em sit on the other side and put em right onto your plate!  they are kind of like muffin batter....you want to mess with it as little as possible for best results.


BEHOLD.

one had more success than the other in retaining the crispy part.

so, as you can see, i like to eat my llapingachos with a fried egg.  they are also usually served with rice (ecuadorian style, of course), but my impromptu llapingacho making necessitated some TJ's harvest grain blend as there was no white rice to be found.  i did adapt it for ecuadorian style preparation though!  also, this dish is perfect with avocado slices.

i provide you the evidence of the rice and avocado from a previous
llapingacho-making voyage that was poorly documented with my
computer camera.

oh and by the way, one of the other reasons llapingachos are like gold is that ladies all over the place just have these outdoor cooking carts set up where they make and sell this meal (llapingachos, rice, beets, fried egg) for like 70 cents.  


i should mention, for those of you who didn't learn spanish, that llapingachos is pronouced like yah-ping-GAH-chose.