Ingredients

¾ - 1 lb ground beef

1 tsp baking soda

1 small onion, finely chopped

½ green pepper, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 oz of tomato sauce

1 tbsp of raisins, soaked in water

A small handful of pimento stuffed green olives

½ tsp oregano

½ tsp cumin

12 medium yellow potatoes, diced

4 eggs

breadcrumbs

Salt and black pepper, to taste

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

Boil the diced potatoes in salted water until slightly overdone (longer than you might for mashed potatoes). Once drained and cooled, mash into a stiff puree.

Season the ground beef with salt and black pepper, mixing in the baking soda to retain moisture, resulting in tender beef that browns faster.

On medium/high heat, cook the onion and green pepper until the onion is translucent; remove from the pan and add the ground beef. Cook until most of the pink is gone and then add the onions and peppers back to the pan, along with the garlic, tomato sauce, drained raisins, olives, oregano, and cumin. Cook for another 10-15 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Once the picadillo has cooled, in a small bowl beat the eggs, adding a little water or milk, if needed. Take a spoonful of the potato puree in your hand and form into a small circle. Then, take a small spoonful of the meat mixture and place it in the center of the potato puree circle, shaping the edges of the potato around the small to form a ball. Coat the ball with the egg wash, then roll in the bread crumbs. Repeat until you have used up the potatoes &/or picadillo.

Place the papas rellenas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Alternatively, fry them up on the stove top with a generous amount of your preferred oil, on a lower heat so they don’t fall apart.

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Everywhere else this dish may be known as papas rellenas, a hearty, latin classic; however in my household, this dish will always be known as: exploding potatoes. During a thwarted attempt to cook this for my father, my mother coined the name for this dish when her efforts yielded only a kitchen covered in bits of potato. The 70s were a wild time.

The goal for the potatoes is to get them to a mashed potato-like consistency, without making mashed potatoes (avoid any dairy products). It may be helpful to add a little vegetable stock or water to get the right consistency for the potatoes; they need to be firm enough to shape around the meat mixture and dry enough to hold on to the egg mixture.

This dish is a great use for leftover Picadillo.