Llapingachos (Ecuadorian Cheese-Stuffed Potato Cakes)

About This Recipe

Llapingachos are the great potato cakes of the Ecuadorian Andes, a dish so beloved that the town of Ambato in the central highlands holds an annual festival in their honour. The name comes from the Quechua llapina (to mash) and they were originally a humble breadbasket of the indigenous Kichwa kitchen — a way to use up cold mashed potato by stuffing it with whatever cheese, queso fresco or quesillo was at hand, and crisping it in the pan with achiote-coloured pork fat. Today they are most often served as the centrepiece of a vast plato típico: two or three golden cakes, glistening with orange annatto oil, share the plate with a fried egg, a length of glossy chorizo (or fritada — slow-fried pork), a salad of lettuce and tomato, slices of avocado, and the indispensable salsa de maní, a smooth golden peanut sauce that pours over everything. The pleasure is the contrast: the cake's outer crust shatters under the fork to reveal a soft, fluffy interior that has begun to ooze stretchy cheese; the peanut sauce coats the potato; the runny yolk of the egg merges with the sauce; the chorizo brings smoky meat and the avocado a cool, fatty calm. It is brunch food of the most extravagant kind — eaten on Sundays in Quito's old town, at roadside paraderos along the Pan-American highway, and at the long lunch tables of Ambato during fiesta week.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 kgstarchy potatoes (russet or Yukon gold), peeled and quartered
• 2 tbspachiote (annatto) oil(achiote seeds gently warmed in oil; sub 2 tbsp neutral oil plus pinch turmeric)
• 1 smallwhite onion, very finely minced, plus 1 garlic clove crushed
• 250 gqueso fresco or mozzarella, coarsely grated(the stuffing must melt)
• 150 gsmooth unsweetened peanut butter (for the salsa de maní)
• 300 mlwhole milk, plus 1 small onion and 1 tomato (for the sauce)
• 4fresh chorizo sausages (for the plate), plus 4 eggs and 1 avocado
• sea salt, ground cumin, fresh coriander, and shredded lettuce to plate

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil and rice the potatoes

   Place potato chunks in a pot, cover with cold salted water, bring to a boil and cook 18–20 minutes until completely tender. Drain very well and return to the empty hot pot for 60 seconds to evaporate moisture. Pass through a ricer or mash thoroughly until smooth — no lumps.

   Wet potato makes wet cakes that fall apart in the pan; the dry-out step is critical.

2. 2

   Season the mash

   Warm 1 tbsp achiote oil in a small pan and sweat the minced onion and garlic 4 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir into the potato along with ½ tsp salt and a pinch of cumin. Mix well and let cool to handle-warm — about 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Make the peanut sauce

   In a blender, blend the peanut butter, milk, the second small chopped onion (raw), tomato, ½ tsp salt, and a pinch of cumin until perfectly smooth. Pour into a small saucepan and simmer over low heat 8 minutes, whisking, until thickened to a pourable cream. Taste — should be nutty, savoury, slightly sweet. Keep warm.

4. 4

   Form and stuff the cakes

   Divide potato into 8 equal balls (about 100 g each). Flatten one in your palm, place 2 tbsp grated cheese in the centre, gather the edges over the cheese and pinch sealed. Reshape into a 2 cm thick disc, sealing any cracks. Repeat with all balls.

   Wet hands prevent sticking; any visible cheese will leak in the pan.

5. 5

   Cook the chorizo and eggs

   While forming, cook the chorizos in a dry skillet over medium heat 10 minutes, turning, until cooked through and glossy. Lift to a warm plate. In the same pan with the rendered fat, fry the eggs sunny-side-up 3 minutes — yolks must stay runny.

6. 6

   Pan-fry the llapingachos

   Heat remaining 1 tbsp achiote oil in a wide non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the potato cakes (don't crowd — work in batches if needed) and cook 4 minutes per side until deeply golden and crusty. The cheese inside should be molten and pulling stringy when broken.

7. 7

   Plate the plato típico

   On wide plates, arrange a small heap of shredded lettuce. Set 2 llapingachos per person, top with a fried egg, lay a chorizo to the side, fan a few avocado slices, and pour generous peanut sauce over the potato cakes (not the egg). Scatter coriander and a few chopped tomato cubes. Eat immediately while everything is hot and yolks are running.

Variations

• •

  Llapingachos morados — make with purple potatoes (papa morada) for a stunning violet version from Imbabura.

• •

  Vegetarian plato — replace chorizo with grilled halloumi and double the avocado.

• •

  Stuffed with queso de chancho — substitute headcheese for a richer Otavalan version.

• •

  Cuy llapingachos — in southern Ecuador served alongside roast guinea pig (cuy) instead of chorizo for fiestas.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked cakes up to 3 days; reheat in a dry pan 4 minutes per side to re-crisp. Uncooked formed cakes freeze beautifully on a tray, then bagged — cook from frozen, adding 2 minutes per side. Peanut sauce keeps refrigerated 5 days; thin with milk on reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions