Llapingachos from Ecuador
As usual, we once again find ourselves behind on pancake blogging. Darn life! You always get in the way! We still find ourselves trying to get our photos up, posted and shared from our trip to Ecuador in August. Hopefully we'll get everything caught up soon.
Anyway, after visiting Dominican Republic we finally made it to the Es, and we found ourselves visiting Ecuador in our kitchen this time. The pancake of Ecuadorian choice is llapingachos, or cheesy potato pancakes. While we were actually in Ecuador, we did eat llapingachos, which was good because it gave us an idea of what they were supposed to look, smell, and taste like.
We decided to make the pancakes along with a tomato onion curtido to top it off. I have to thank Layla for our recipes this week. She has some yummy looking recipes on her blog, so check it out if you have a chance.
So here is what you will need to make llapingachos:
3 lbs. of russet potatoes
2 tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup of finely chopped white onion
2 teaspoons of ground achiote
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the curtido you will need:
2 lbs. of cherry tomatoes
2 small red onions
Juice of 3 limes
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon of salt (you might need a little bit more for added flavor)
Let's start with making the curtido since it needs some time to marinate the flavors. The first thing you 'll need to do is cut your onions in half, and then finely slice them.
After slicing them, place them in a bowl and add the salt. Let the onions sit with the salt for about 10 minutes.
Next cover the onions with lukewarm water, and let them sit another 10 minutes.
Now you're ready to drain and rinse the onions.
Return the onions to their bowl, and squeeze the lime juice over them. Also add the oil at this time and stir it all up. You'll need to put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes have passed, slice the tomatoes in half and chop the cilantro. Add them to the onions.
Now on to making the llapingachos. First you'll need to peel your potatoes and boil them.
If you can't find ground achiote, you'll need to grind the whole seeds as we did. Beware, this makes a huge mess.
Chop your onions and cook them in some oil, along with the ground achiote until the onions are soft.
This is what they will look like when they are finished.
When the potatoes are soft, you'll need to mash them and add the cooked onions. Stir them until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Next make the mixture into balls.
Once you've made all of the balls, make a small hole in the middle, add some shredded cheese, and then cover it with the potato dough.
Now you're ready to fry the llapingachos. Flatten each ball between your hands, and place the pancakes on a griddle. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve topped with the curtido and your favorite protein. We chose fried eggs for this Sunday morning.
The llapingachos were as we remembered them. They tasted liked fried mashed potatoes. There wasn't anything particularly wow worthy about them. I will say that they did soak up the fried egg nicely, and the curtido was awesome! I used it in my southwestern salad for lunch throughout the week.
Anyway, after visiting Dominican Republic we finally made it to the Es, and we found ourselves visiting Ecuador in our kitchen this time. The pancake of Ecuadorian choice is llapingachos, or cheesy potato pancakes. While we were actually in Ecuador, we did eat llapingachos, which was good because it gave us an idea of what they were supposed to look, smell, and taste like.
We decided to make the pancakes along with a tomato onion curtido to top it off. I have to thank Layla for our recipes this week. She has some yummy looking recipes on her blog, so check it out if you have a chance.
So here is what you will need to make llapingachos:
3 lbs. of russet potatoes
2 tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup of finely chopped white onion
2 teaspoons of ground achiote
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the curtido you will need:
2 lbs. of cherry tomatoes
2 small red onions
Juice of 3 limes
1 tablespoon of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon of salt (you might need a little bit more for added flavor)
Let's start with making the curtido since it needs some time to marinate the flavors. The first thing you 'll need to do is cut your onions in half, and then finely slice them.
After slicing them, place them in a bowl and add the salt. Let the onions sit with the salt for about 10 minutes.
Next cover the onions with lukewarm water, and let them sit another 10 minutes.
Now you're ready to drain and rinse the onions.
Return the onions to their bowl, and squeeze the lime juice over them. Also add the oil at this time and stir it all up. You'll need to put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes have passed, slice the tomatoes in half and chop the cilantro. Add them to the onions.
Now on to making the llapingachos. First you'll need to peel your potatoes and boil them.
If you can't find ground achiote, you'll need to grind the whole seeds as we did. Beware, this makes a huge mess.
This is what they will look like when they are finished.
When the potatoes are soft, you'll need to mash them and add the cooked onions. Stir them until everything is thoroughly mixed.
Next make the mixture into balls.
Once you've made all of the balls, make a small hole in the middle, add some shredded cheese, and then cover it with the potato dough.
Now you're ready to fry the llapingachos. Flatten each ball between your hands, and place the pancakes on a griddle. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve topped with the curtido and your favorite protein. We chose fried eggs for this Sunday morning.
The llapingachos were as we remembered them. They tasted liked fried mashed potatoes. There wasn't anything particularly wow worthy about them. I will say that they did soak up the fried egg nicely, and the curtido was awesome! I used it in my southwestern salad for lunch throughout the week.
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