How to Make Papa Rellena. Step by Step

Papa rellenaPapa rellena is one of my favorite Peruvian dishes. It’s satisfying, bursting with flavor, and you can have it as an appetizer or entrée, hot or cold, day & night, night & day, and fill it with whatever you want. I especially enjoy the fact that a lot of die-hard meat eaters, who go by the slogan of “if I don’t have meat in a meal I feel like I haven’t eaten at all”, are so easily fooled by this dish when it’s made with soy meat. In my house they have always made the regular, with meat, and a few portions on the side for me, with soy meat. Now that it’s just me and my dad, and I’m the nutritional dictator of our kitchen, everyone eats soy, and nobody complains. It really is as good when it’s karma-free.

Papa rellena

But I’m not trying to convert you here. You can do the exact same recipe I’m gonna share here with minced beef instead of soy. This is just the way I eat it, definitely not the way 99.9% of Peruvians do. Whichever way you make it, you will be getting the real deal as there’s hardly any difference in taste and appearance between the two. If you want the original version, just pretend that what you see in these pictures is real meat, and replace accordingly.

Papa rellena

Papa rellena means “stuffed potato”, and it basically is mashed potato stuffed with minced beef, raisins, olives, and hard-boiled egg, and pan fried untill it’s golden on the outside. Like most creolle dishes, it’s accompanied with salsa criolla, and although it was originally created as an appetizer, in most households it’s eaten as an entrée nowadays, with white rice on the side.

Papa rellena

In the past, the mash had lard and eggs in it, and the stuffing included parsley, chili peppers, almonds, and even peanuts. It can be made either with Peruvian yellow potatoes, or with regular white potatoes, and some people add yucca to achieve that perfectly creamy-but-structured texture. The basic recipe is very flexible, as any kind of stuffing will work well with the potatoes. Some of the favorites stuffings are chicken, fish, seafood, vegetables and cheese.

Papa rellena

Some say its origin (supposedly the Spanish Empanada) is really Arab, because Spain was influenced by that culture for 700 years.  Spanish colonizers came to the New World with Arab cooks, wives, and lovers, along with their appetizing recipes of sweets -such as rice pudding-, and savory dishes, and these women were experts at stuffing all kinds of vegetables with juicy and tasty minced meat preparations. This didn’t change when they arrived in exotic lands; they just learned to stuff all the new ingredients they found, such as tomatoes, potatoes, rocotos, caiguas, etc.

Papa rellena

This easy dish is very practical too. You can make it ahead and freeze it when it’s already fried. When you’re hungry or need a quick meal just take it out, heat it up a bit and you’re ready to go. The size is traditionally small (like in the pictures), but you can make them bigger, (even twice the size), for a very filling and succulent meal. A good potato to use for this is yukon, but any white potato that is not floury should do.Papa rellena


How to Make Papa Rellena. Step by Step
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8- 12
 
How to Make Papa Rellena. Step by Step
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs potatoes
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 lb soy meat (or ground beef)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ají panca paste (panca chili pepper paste that you can find in many stores or online. Optional)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup black olives, sliced
  • Salt, pepper
  • Parsley, chopped
  • All-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
Instructions
  1. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan with boiling water until they are tender (around 20 minutes, but it depends on the potato). Peel them while hot, as fast as you can. Pass them through the ricer at once. Add salt and pepper. Keep covered while you cook the filling.
  2. In a saucepan heat the oil over high heat, add the onion and garlic stirring, then the tomato paste and ají panca, if using. Add the soy meat (or ground beef), salt, pepper. Stir and cover the saucepan. Cook over low heat for around 15 minutes, stirring every now and then.
  3. Incorporate hard-boiled eggs, raisins, olives, and parsley. Turn off the heat.
  4. With floured hands, knead the potatoes for a few seconds. Take a portion of the potato dough and flatten it between your hands. With a spoon put a portion of the soy filling in the center of the potato round. Close it with some extra potato dough and form a little “football”.
  5. Put the flour in a bowl, and mix the 2 extra eggs in another bowl. Roll every roll in the eggs, then in the flour, shaking the excess, and fry in a hot pan with hot oil until the potato forms a thin golden a crusty layer. Move around every now and then to make sure every side becomes golden.
  6. Drain over paper towel and serve immediately, with Salsa Criolla or plain rice.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 240 Fat: 10


Comments

  1. gracias por tanta belleza!!!…esta web realmente ensena la grandeza y calidad de nuestra variada y exquisita comida,las fotos y el contenido son de primera,MUCHAS GRACIAS!!
    Alonso Rey

    http://search.absolutearts.com/searchengine/searchresult.php

  2. I just discovered your wonderful site and love how clear your instructions are and the great pictures accompanying them are.
    With the Papa Rellena I was wondering if it would be best to freeze for later use before or after deep frying? Also, what’s the best way to defrost them when ready to use. Lastly, about how long do you think they’ll last in the freezer?
    Thanks for any help you provide on this and can’t wait to see more delicious recipes!!

    • Hi Johana, papas rellenas can be frozen up to two months, well wrapped. You can freeze them already fried, thaw them in the fridge and warm in the oven or in the pan with a bit of oil. I hope this helps! Thanks for visiting.

  3. My husband is Peruvian so I decided to make something special for him.
    The papa rellena fell a part when I tried to turn it around in the pot , is there a way to avoid it?

    • Hi Rachel! That happens when the potatoes you are using are starchy. You can mix cooked potatoes with cooked and mashed yucca for great papas rellenas.

  4. which type of potatoe would you advise to use? i live in England

  5. We make them stuffed with fish so good!

  6. Hello. Is freezing the papa rellena with the egg inside really okay? I’ve heard that the egg white will become rubber and the yolk chalky. I’m freezing the dish 2 weeks ahead of the serving day. I’d like some feedback, thanks.

  7. Buenas noches a mi siempre se me abre, lo he hecho con papa blanca, con rosada, la ultima vez lo hice con papa rosada mezclada con yuca, la bañe con huevo y chuño para freirla e igual se me abrieron. Por favor quisiera saber que tipo de papa usar. Muchas gracias.

    • Hola No se debe usar papa rosada porque son más arenosas la papa que es buena aquí en Estados Unidos y que se parece mucho a la papa que hay en Perú es la papa blanca que viene de Idaho algunas son muy grandes y otros más pequeñas hay que sancocharlas con agua que las cubra y si gusta le echo un poquito de sal; así la sal va ayudar a que la papa se apriete que no se deshaga que no se vuelva arenosa. Y otro Tip es usen guantes plásticos en el momento de preparar las papas porque así la harina y los guantes ayudarán a que la papa se mantenga unida que no se desprenda el relleno por el peso y también algunas personas le echan a la papa molida un huevo batido cuando se mezcla la papa machucada un poquito de sal y otras personas también mezclan la yuca molida después de sancochada con la papa y esta también ayuda a que apriete para que no se rompa al momento de preparar y de freír!
      Mi madre de 95 años tiene la receta de su abuela y no usaban pasta de tomate solamente es el aderezo de la carne con la cebolla y los ajos y lleva orégano tostado y molido esto le dará un riquísimo sabor y olor al momento de freír es riquísimo

  8. Todo muy bueno. Lo único que se acompaña con Sarza Criolla no salsa. Salsa es líquida.

  9. None of your business says:

    Fell apart. What kind of potato? Starchy, waxy, or in between? The recipe didn’t mention it was a potato DOUGH until the forming. As soon as they were put in the pan they fell apart. Recipe should say to FREEZE the formed potatoes seeing as the dough is too light and fragile to straight up fry and even begins to fall apart when put into the eggs. Take this recipe with a grain of salt and find a local Hispanic friend instead to give you a recipe.

  10. I make mini ones like this to include in tapas dishes

  11. I loved these when i went to Tingo Maria, they are filled with much more things than meat. (Although mostly this recipe is the best seller) But I have one with a simple egg in the middle, with the yellow potato and the yolk still runny it was deliciously simple !

  12. hello what kind of potatoes can I use for the Papa Rellana?
    my husband is from peru and this is my first time making this for him.

  13. Hi there! I have 2 questions. How long can I have a cooked papa rellena in the fridge? And what is the best kind of potato to use? I used gold potato last time but if there is a better option?

  14. We love Peruvian food, and love your page

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