Kitchen Secrets with Our Cuban Chef – Papa Rellena
A papa rellena is a fist-sized ball of mashed potato hiding a core of picadillo, breaded and fried until the outside crackles. Cut one open and the beef, olives and tomato spill out into the potato.
They are sold from bakery counters and cafeteria windows all over Cuba and all over Cuban Tampa, eaten standing up, usually before lunch. Making them at home is not difficult, but there are three or four points where they go wrong, and we will cover each one.
A Spanish idea, reworked in Cuba
Stuffing and frying a starch is an old Spanish technique, and versions of it exist across Latin America: papa rellena in Peru with a different filling, rellenos de papa in Puerto Rico, croquetas everywhere.
What makes the Cuban version Cuban is the picadillo inside. Ground beef cooked with sofrito, tomato, green olives and sometimes raisins is a dish in its own right, served over rice at family dinners. Wrapping it in potato was a way to turn last night’s dinner into something you could sell from a counter.
That is still how many Cuban kitchens work. Leftover picadillo on Monday becomes papas rellenas on Tuesday.
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
- 2 tbsp raisins, optional
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 eggs, beaten, for coating
- 2 cups fine breadcrumbs
- Oil for deep frying
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to make Cuban Papa Rellena (Stuffed Potato Balls)
- Boil the potatoes in salted water 20 minutes, until completely tender. Drain them well and let them steam dry in the colander for 5 minutes. Wet potato is the main reason papas rellenas fall apart.
- Mash the potatoes smooth with the butter, then beat in the egg yolks and season generously with salt. Spread the mash on a tray and refrigerate at least one hour until firm and cold.
- Make the picadillo. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, breaking it up, then add the onion, pepper and garlic and cook 6 minutes until soft.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, olives, raisins, cumin and oregano. Simmer 10 minutes until thick with no loose liquid, then season and cool completely.
- Take about a third of a cup of cold mash, flatten it in your palm into a disc, put a heaped tablespoon of picadillo in the centre, and close the potato around it. Roll into a smooth ball with no cracks. Repeat.
- Roll each ball in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs, pressing so the coating sticks. For a sturdier crust, repeat the egg and crumb step a second time.
- Chill the coated balls 30 minutes. This step is what holds them together in the oil.
- Heat the oil to 350F and fry in small batches, 4 to 5 minutes, turning until deep golden all over. Drain on a rack, not paper, so the bottoms stay crisp.
Chef’s notes
- Russets, not waxy potatoes. You want a dry, floury mash that holds a shape.
- Both the mash and the filling have to be cold before you assemble. Warm ingredients steam inside the coating and blow it open in the fryer.
- Seal any crack you see before breading. One small opening lets oil in and the ball will burst.
Serving them
Eat them hot, within minutes of frying. No sauce is traditional, though a little hot sauce or a squeeze of lime is common.
You can freeze them breaded but unfried. Lay them on a tray until solid, bag them, and fry from frozen at 325F for about 8 minutes so the centre heats through before the crust darkens.
Prefer to let us cook?
We make cuban papa rellena (stuffed potato balls) fresh every day at our kitchen on 5555 S 78th St in Tampa. You can order Stuffed Potato for pickup, or browse the full Cuban menu and skip the line.
