Puerto Rican Alcapurrias - Fritters

Name: Puerto Rican Alcapurrias - Fritters
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 15
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 4 lbs yautía root, also known as malanga or cocoyam; 3 green plantains; 1 package seasoning with achiote (annatto), to taste; 1 tablespoon salt; Enough oil to fry 15 stuffed alcapurrias; 1lb ground beef; 2 tablespoons sofrito; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 bell pepper, diced

Save Recipe

Prep 30 min
Total 45 min
Ingredients 9
Servings 15

Save
Print
Pinterest
Facebook
Email

Ready to make?

Save
Share
Keep Screen On

Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite trips is to travel along the coasts of Puerto Rico; it's a culinary event of its own! Along the roads there are hundreds of kiosks selling typical dishes, such as the delicious 'salmorejo de jueyes' or stewed crab over an arepa, bacalaítos–salted cod fritters, and of course the classic alcapurrias filled with beef, stewed crab or salted cod.

Ingredients

For the dough:

4 lbs yautía root, also known as malanga or cocoyam
3 green plantains
1 package seasoning with achiote (annatto), to taste
1 tablespoon salt
Enough oil to fry 15 stuffed alcapurrias

For the filling:

1lb ground beef
2 tablespoons sofrito
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 bell pepper, diced

Directions

1

In a medium-sized skillet, add the sofrito, salt, bell pepper and sauté for a few minutes. Then add the ground beef and stir to evenly break-up the meat. Let cook until the beef is no longer pink and remove from heat. Set aside and let cool.
2

Next peel the plantains and the yautía. Use a food processor to grate these ingredients, then mix until a smooth dough forms. Last, add in the seasoning and salt to the dough.
3

Over a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper paper, add a toque of oil to grease the surface. Then place a large spoonful of dough onto the foil or paper. Make a well, or small hole in the center and fill with a little stewed meat. Carefully mold the dough to close the hole–if necessary, you can use more dough for covering.
4

To cook the finished alcapurrias, pre-heat the oil for frying. Carefully place the molded alcapurrias into the oil and fry for seven minutes on each side, or until golden brown. When ready, set over a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

Expert Tips

tip 1
You can substitute the green plantains for 5 green bananas; yuca root can be also be added.
tip 2
If you have some leftover, unfried alcapurrias, you can cover them in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to cook. Just let them defrost before frying.

Nutrition Information

No nutrition information available for this recipe

More About This Recipe

Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite trips is to travel along the coasts of Puerto Rico; it's a culinary event of its own! Along the roads there are hundreds of kiosks selling typical dishes, such as the delicious 'salmorejo de jueyes' or stewed crab over an arepa, bacalaítos–salted cod fritters, and of course the classic alcapurrias filled with beef, stewed crab or salted cod.