Rellenos de papa are a traditional Puerto Rican fritter, and they happen to be my all time favorite crunchy snack whenever I visit the island. Typically, they're made with white potatoes, and are filled with a deliciously spiced ground beef mixture. To add some beautiful color and sweetness to this traditional dish, I use a combination of sweet and regular potatoes. The results are phenomenal! We love the combination of sweet and salty flavors in Caribbean cuisine, so this combo was a no-brainer for me. Even the husband loved them, and he hates sweet potatoes. You can assemble a ton of these crispy, crunchy sweet potato fritters, and freeze them for future snacking. These are highly addictive, so don't say I didn't warn you!
(Makes about 12 rellenos)
1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup of pre-cooked cornmeal (masarepa), plus more for dusting
1 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup sofrito
1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning
1/2 packet Sazon seasoning
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt
Canola oil, for frying
Cook the potatoes and sweet potatoes in salted, boiling water for 20-25 minutes, until they're fork tender. Drain them thoroughly.
Using a ricer, push the hot potatoes through the smallest setting (if yours is adjustible like mine).
Once all the potatoes have been riced, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 cup of masarepa. Stir to combine and set it aside for 15 minutes, while you prepare the filling. This will allow the masarepa to absorb the excess moisture in the potatoes.
To make the filling, saute the beef with 1 tablespoon of canola oil, 1/4 cup of sofrito, 1 teaspoon of Adobo seasoning, 1/2 packet of Sazon seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Cook until the beef is no longer pink. Set the mixture aside.
To form the rellenos, I like using an ice cream scoop! This helps portion out the sweet potato mixture easily, so that you don't end up with rellenos that are all different sizes. So take a regular sized ice cream scoop, and plop a ball of the potato mixture into your hand.
Use your free hand to pat the mixture into a disc, that's just slightly bigger than your palm, and about 1/2″ thick.
Add a heaping tablespoon of the ground beef mixture into the center of the disc.
Slowly cup your hand to wrap the potato mixture around the filling. Work slowly and gently to close up the fritter and form a ball.
Once the relleno is formed, roll it in some of the masarepa, so it's evenly coated with a nice cornmeal crust.
Refrigerate the rellenos for 15-20 minutes, to allow them to firm up. At this point, you can also freeze them. Just place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze them in a single layer until they're firm. Store the frozen rellenos in a plastic freezer bag. You'll want to defrost them overnight in the refrigerator before frying.
Fry the rellenos in canola oil that's been heated to 375-400 degrees F, for about 5-7 minutes. Everything in them is already cooked, so you're just looking for them to get crispy and golden brown on the outside.
Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before serving.