Alcapurrias are gound beef filled, fried fritters made from a mixture of grated yautía (taro root) and green bananas. Vendors sell alcapurrias at street side stands and grills throught the Caribbean islands. Change it up by using ground chicken, turkey or pork. For a luxury version stuff the alcapurrias with cuban picadillo. I like to use my food processor to grate the yautía and green bananas.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
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- MASA (DOUGH)
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- 5 medium green bananas
- 1 pound yautía (taro root)
- 2 teaspoons salt
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- FILLING
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- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1 tbsp. sofrito
- 1 tbsp. alcaparrado (mix of olives, pimientos and capers)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Vegetable oil for frying
Preparation:
Masa
- Peel the green bananas and place in a bowl of cold salted water.
- Peel and wash the yautías and place in a bowl of cold salted water.
- Grate the bananas and yautías. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and mix well. Set aside.
- In a deep pot or frying pan, brown the ground beef. Drain off the fat.
- Add sofrito, alcaparrado mix, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- On a piece of wax paper, spread out 1 to 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture and make a shallow well in the center. You can also use the palm of your hand instead of wax paper.
- Put 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling into the well and cover it with some more masa mix. Use the back of spoon to smooth the masa all around the filling so no meat is showing. You can freeze the alcapurrias at this point for eating later.
- Heat enough oil, in a fryer or deep frying pan, to cover the alcapurrias when frying. The oil should be heated to about 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add the alcapurrias, being careful not to splash the oil or crowd the fryer. Fry until crispy and golden, from 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain the alcapurrias on paper towels and allow to cool before eating.
