Alcapurrias

Alcapurrias are a popular Puerto Rican fritter that’s especially common at street food stands, festivals, and family gatherings. They’re made by grating a mix of green bananas and yautía (taro root) to form a starchy dough called the masa. The masa is seasoned with sofrito and sazón for color. This dough is gluten free. The dough is then flattened, filled with a savory mixture (often ground beef, chicken, or vegetarian fillings), carefully shaped into a torpedo or oval form, and deep-fried until golden and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

Yield 8 medium alcapurrias

Ingredients:

• Dough

  • 1lb green bananas

  • 1lb of taro root (yautia)

  • 1/2 tbsp sofrito

  • 1tsp salt (or to taste)

  • 1/2 packet of sazon

  • parchment paper

  • neutral oil, enough for frying

• Filling:

  • 1/2 lb desired protein (ground beef, chicken, mushroom)

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1/4 cup diced onion

  • 1 garlic clove

  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce

  • 1/2 tbsp sofrito

  • oil for parchment paper

Procedure:

1. Peel the green bananas and the taro root and cut in very small pieces, add to a food processor, and processed until a homogeneous paste like dough is obtained. Place the dough in a container, add the sofrito, salt and sazon to the dough, mix well and set aside in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

2. In a pan at medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, sauté the onion until softened. Add garlic, and sofrito, and cook for one minute.

3. Add the desired protein and cook until browned, stirring constantly.

4. Add the tomato sauce, lower the heat, and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Taste your protein and adjust for flavor, add salt and pepper.

5. Cut the parchment paper into squares of about 5” each, put a bit of oil in the paper and distribute evenly. Place a 1/4 cup (2oz) of dough in the center of the parchment paper and spread it. In the center of the dough, place two tablespoons of meat. Close the paper from one end to the other and push inward with your hand until the dough is closed with the filling inside and the alcapurria is formed, you can also used a spoon to help shaping the dough.

6. Place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes until firm.

7. Fry in plenty of oil, at high heat, until golden brown on both sides

8. When the alcapurria is golden, remove from oil and let it rest in a rack.

9. Enjoy warm.

¡Buen Provecho!