Llapingachos

This is a treat from Ecuador. We have some really nice potatoes from the market, which is what inspired this.

900g floury potatoes

1 onion, finely chopped

60g butter

 Salt & Pepper

1tbsp oil

110g hard cheese – I’m using Gruyere

The boy isn’t usually keen on things he hasn’t heard of, and this is the first time I’ve made these. You need two oven  rings for this. One to boil the potatoes, and another to fry the onion in half the olive oil. While this is cooking, grate the cheese. Mature Cheddar or Jarlsberg would work just as well. Mash the potato with half of the butter and the salt and pepper. I think you should do this gently so it doesn’t end up gluey. I want it crushed, rather than smooth but it needs to bind. Don’t under estimate the salt and pepper.

Listen to Act I of Handel’s Saul while they cool. Amazing oratorio about two young men who love each other.  Get a small handful of potato and form it into a golf ball in your hands. Poke a hole in it with your finger and push in some of the cheese and some of the onion. Flatten it and continue with the rest of the potato mixture. Heat the rest of the oil and butter and fry them until browned on both sides.

This needs some peanut sauce: 1 finely chopped onion ,fried,  8tbsp peanut butter, enough milk to loosen it (just keep adding a splash until it turns from a paste to a sauce), salt, pepper and ½ tsp chilli powder. Whisk it all together. Hmmm add another ¼ teaspoon of chilli powder.  In the UK peanut butter is unsweetened – in the US it often  isn’t, so check the jar. The unsweetened kind is what you need. It needs to be the smooth kind. Whole Earth Organic is speckled with brown flecks where the skin has been blended in. Luckily this is the boy’s preferred brand.When you have a sauce, sprinkle with roughly chopped coriander/cilantro leaves.

We want to to make a proper meal of this so we’re topping the potato cakes with a soft fried duck eggs. On the side are ripe, sliced avocado, sprinkled with lime juice, and thick slices of fresh ripe knobbly  tomatoes. The tomatoes need flaky sea salt, the duck eggs need white pepper.

We found an intricately carved tray in a skip . It’s either Indian or Nepali.  I cleaned it, repaired it and painted it grey. The boy is delighted to have his served on it with a small white plate. He wants his morning coffee served on it from now on. He thinks he’s a prince. We’lll see.