Alcapurias Recipes

Steps:

• For the meat: Place a skillet over medium heat and add the canola oil, onions and sofrito. Cook 1 minute, then add ground beef, tomato sauce, adobo, salt and olives. Mix well and let cook until brown, about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• For the fritters: With a knife, cut the skin off the taro root and peel the bananas. Grate the taro root and bananas on the small holes of a box grater. Mix them with the annatto oil, adobo and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour, since the chilled dough is easier to assemble. (This is optional.)
• To assemble the fritters, use wax paper as your base. Cover the center with some annatto oil. Take a heaping 1/4 cup dough and set it in the center of the paper. Spread thinly, then add 3 tablespoons ground beef mixture to the center. Wrap both ends of the paper over each other to make a cylinder-shaped fritter. Push down on the dough to seal the meat inside the fritter. Make sure the dough is sealed completely on both ends and the center. If there are holes, seal them with extra dough, using your finger.
• Heat several inches of canola oil in a Dutch oven or deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Slide the fritters into the hot oil for 5 to 6 minutes. Place them on a plate with a paper towel so the grease is absorbed. Serve immediately with hot sauce if desired.

Steps:

• Make the sofrito: Add the cilantro, culantro, bell pepper, garlic, onion, adobo seasoning, garlic powder, and pepper to a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are broken down and the mixture has the texture of a chunky salsa. Reserve ⅓ cup (75 G) for the filling, then set aside the remaining sofrito for another use. It will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
• Make the filling: Heat the vegetable oil in a large, high-walled skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the reserved ⅓ cup (75 G) sofrito and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
• Add the ground beef, olives, adobo seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, and Sazón Culantro and Achiote seasoning. Cook until the beef is no longer pink, 5-6 minutes.
• Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the filling to a large bowl and set aside.
• Make the masa: Add the bananas, plantain, and yucca to a food processor and pulse until completely smooth, stopping the push the larger pieces to the bottom as you go. Transfer to a large bowl and add the garlic powder, salt, and Sazón Culantro and Achiote seasoning. Mix well to combine.
• To assemble, grease an 8 x 12-inch (20 x 30 cm) sheet of parchment paper with nonstick spray. Add about ⅔ cup (155 G) masa to the center of the parchment paper. Using a rubber spatula, spread the masa into an oval about ⅓-inch thick, leaving a 1-2-inch (2.5-5 cm) border of parchment around the edges.
• Scoop ⅓ cup (75 G) beef filling onto the center of the masa, leaving a 2-inch (5 cm) border of masa around the meat. Lift a long edge of the parchment paper up and over the filling to enclose with the masa, then repeat with the other side, then the short edges. The masa should stick to itself. Patch any holes with more masa, then use the parchment to gently roll the alcapurria from side to side to seal, making sure the filling is completely enclosed. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large, high-walled skillet to 350°F (180°C) over medium heat. Working with 1 wrapped alcapurria at a time, lower a long edge of the parchment into the oil and very gently roll the alcapurria off so it sits flat-side down, being careful not to splatter the oil. Add another alcapurria and fry for 2-3 minutes per side, or until golden brown and crispy. Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to drain and cool slightly while you repeat with the remaining alcapurrias.
• Serve immediately with hot sauce for dipping.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• In a small saucepan heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil with the annatto seeds until the olive oil changes color; it should be a mild orange/red. Strain and set aside.
• Using a food processor, process the yautia and green plantain on medium speed until nice and smooth; add the salt and strained annatto oil. Now you have a fresh masa; place in the refrigerator.
• Preheat a large Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sofrito. Stir-fry for 1 minute and add the ground beef. Brown the beef and add the Latin seasoning mix, garlic powder, onion powder and oregano mixing well. Add the beef stock and simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes. Remove the beef from the heat, strain the raisins and add them to the beef mixture mixing well. Set aside to cool.
• Remove the masa from the refrigerator and using 1 to 2 tablespoons (depending on how large you want them) scoop out of the bowl and into the palm of your water moistened hand patting into a round disk to prepare it for the filling (the masa can be a little too pliable; if you notice that you can't form a round disk, place the masa in the refrigerator to firm it up before proceeding). Add a teaspoon or more of beef mixture to the center of the masa and using a patting motion (as if you were making a snow ball) pat the masa around the beef to form a ball being very careful not to let the beef stick out of the plantain. Continue forming the balls until both mixtures are finished. Leftovers of either can be saved for your next meal (I'll show you what to do with them in a future recipe).
• Preheat a large Dutch oven on high and add enough oil to comfortably fry the Alcapurias (about 2 to 3 cups). (Heat the oil to 350 degrees F if you are frying them fresh; if frozen, lower the temperature to 325 degrees F.) When the oil has reached the desired temperature, carefully add the alcapurias 1 at a time making sure not to crowd the pan. Remove and drain on a thick bed of paper towels; transfer to a cooling rack once drained and store in a warm oven until you have completed frying them all.
• To serve: Alcapurias can be placed on a dish and passed around to your guests or on a serving platter and placed on your buffet. They do not require a sauce, topping or dip of any kind. Their unique taste will carry them on your buffet all on their own!

Steps:

• Prepare the annatto oil: In a small saucepan, heat oil and annatto seeds over medium-high. Once the mixture comes to a rolling simmer, remove saucepan from stove, stir to combine, then let rest for 5 minutes. Transfer oil to a heat-safe container, straining out seeds through a fine-mesh sieve, and set aside. (Makes 3/4 cup.) You'll use this oil in three separate steps to come.
• Prepare the masa: Fill a large bowl with cold water and a fistful of salt. Peel and chop yautia and green bananas into 1-inch pieces, then soak in the salted water until ready to process.
• Cut at least 32 squares of wax paper about 4 to 5 inches each. (Traditionally, banana leaves are used, but, since they can be difficult to source, wax paper is an appropriate substitute.)
• Drain yautia and bananas well, then use a clean cloth to dab any excess water. Working in two batches, add half the drained yautia and bananas to the food processor with 1 tablespoon salt, and pulse until fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining yautia, bananas and 1 tablespoon salt, processing to the texture of chunky hummus.
• Return the first batch of blended yautia and bananas to the food processor, turn it on and gradually pour in 1/2 cup annatto oil, blending the mixture until smooth and dark yellow in color. Taste for salt, then transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate for an hour or more so it can set. (This will make about 9 to 10 cups of masa.)
• Prepare the filling: In a medium saucepan, bring 3 tablespoons annatto oil to a simmer over medium heat. Add sofrito, capers, sazón and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Lower heat to medium-low and add crab meat, stirring well to incorporate. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until flavors blend and crab has soaked up the seasoning. Adjust salt as needed.
• Create an assembly line on a long dining table or counter, preferably atop a cloth or towels you don't mind getting stained. From left to right, arrange the remaining annatto oil, wax paper squares, masa, crab filling and a large plate or baking sheet. Have a finger bowl with water and a clean towel available in case your hands get messy.
• Using a small teaspoon, smear about 1/8 teaspoon of annatto oil in a wide oval shape nearly to the edge of the paper. Add about 2 tablespoons of masa, then spread in a wide oval over the annatto oil, leaving at least a 1/2-inch border of paper uncovered. Add about 2 to 3 teaspoons crab to the center of the masa, taking care not to overfill. Fold the paper in half, creating a half-moon shape, and seal the edge by pressing the masa lightly with your fingers, careful not to let the filling spill out. Stack carefully on a plate or baking sheet, and return to the fridge until ready to fry. (These fry up best when they've had time to rest in the refrigerator. If you'd like to prepare these ahead of time, you can refrigerate them for several hours, or store in the freezer for several months. They can be fried directly from the freezer.)
• In a deep, heavy-bottomed pan or deep fryer, bring about 2 inches of vegetable oil (at least 4 cups) to a simmer over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees on a candy thermometer. Working in batches, carefully transfer each alcapurria to the simmering oil, sliding it off the paper onto your hand, then carefully dropping in the oil. Gently nudge the alcapurrias with heat-safe tongs to prevent them from sticking. (The filling may burst through the edges, causing oil to splatter, so keep a splatter guard handy, if you have one.) Turn each fritter a few times until evenly dark golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove from oil and drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels and cook remaining alcapurrias. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before eating, as they are quite hot. Sprinkle each bite with your hot sauce of choice.

Steps:

• Peel the green bananas and place in a bowl of cold salted water.
• Peel and wash the yautías and place in a bowl of cold salted water.
• Grate the bananas and yautías. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and mix well. Set aside.
• Filling
• In a deep pot or frying pan, brown the ground beef. Drain off the fat.
• Add sofrito, alcaparrado mix, and salt and pepper to taste.cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
• Put it together on a piece of wax paper, spread out 1 to 2 tablespoons of the masa mixture and make a shallow well in the center. You can also use the palm of your hand instead of wax paper.
• Put 1 to 2 teaspoons of the filling into the well and cover it with some more masa mix. Use the back of spoon to smooth the masa all around the filling so no meat is showing.
• You can freeze the alcapurrias at this point for eating later.
• Heat enough oil, in a fryer or deep frying pan, to cover the alcapurrias when frying. The oil should be heated to about 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Add the alcapurrias, being careful not to splash the oil or crowd the fryer. Fry until crispy and golden, from 5 to 7 minutes.
• Drain the alcapurrias on paper towels and allow to cool before eating.

Steps:

• For the masa: Peel and cut the taro roots and bananas into small chunks. Grate the taro and bananas in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade (see Cook's Note). Transfer to a medium bowl. Change the blade on the food processor to the cutting blade. Add the shredded vegetables, lard, adobo and sazón and puree until it forms a dough. Transfer to the same medium bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• For the fritters: To prepare the crab filling, heat the lard in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the crabmeat, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Stir in the sofrito, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
• To form the alcapurrias, spray a sheet of aluminum foil or wax paper with olive oil cooking spray, put about 1/4 cup of the dough on the foil and form into a patty. Place 1 tablespoon of the crab filling in the center of the dough, fold up one side of the foil over the dough and roll it while gently pressing down to form a log 4 to 5 inches long. Fold in the sides of the foil or wax paper. If the dough feels soft, refrigerate for a few minutes until firm before frying. Repeat with the remaining masa and crab filling.
• Pour about 2 inches oil in a large saute pan or deep large skillet and heat over high heat until very hot. Peel away the foil or wax paper from 3 alcapurrias and gently slide or roll into the hot oil and cook until deep golden brown all over and firm to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes. Repeat with the remaining alcapurrias.
• Drain on paper towels and allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve with hot sauce.