ALCAPURRIAS(PUERTO RICAN STUFFED FRITTERS)

Steps:

• 1. Pino Filling: 1.heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium flame. Sauté the onions until they are translucent, 3-4 minutes 2.Add the garlic, paprika, cuminseed and oregano and sauté 1-2 minutes more 3.Add the ground beef, salt and pepper and sauté, breaking up the beef until it is cooked through, 5-7 minutes. 4.Stir in the water or stock, raisins and olives and bring to a simmer. Sprinkle flour over all and stir in well. Simmer for another 5-8 minutes, or until lightly thickened. Adjust seasoning, remove from heat and set aside to cool.
• 2. 1.Peel the yautía and grate it on a fine grater into a large bowl 2.Next peel the green bananas and grate them into the same bowl 3.Add the sazón and salt and mix together well 4.Place the masa, or batter, in a food processor and pulse until the batter is fairly smooth. 5.Cut a banana leaf or a piece of wax or parchment paper into a round slightly larger than your hand 6.Put about 1/2 cup of the batter onto the round and spread it out a bit 7.Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the pino filling in the middle of the batter 7.Using the round, fold the batter up and around the filling, completely enclosing it 8.Form the batter into a smooth, oval round and set it aside. 9.Continue with the remaining batter and filling until it is used up. 3.Heat about 2 inches of oil in a large pan or deep fryer to about 370°F. Drop a few of the alcapurrias at a time into the oil and fry until well browned on one side. Flip and brown well on the second side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the remaining alcapurrias. 4.Serve hot with a hefty dash of hot pepper sauce.
• 3. Please Note: •"Green bananas" does not mean bananas that are slightly underripe. It means green green. So green they are a little hard to peel. They can be found in this state at many Latin and Asian markets, but you might have a hard time finding them at most mainstream supermarkets. Ask the produce section people if they have any in the back. Otherwise, use unripe plantains instead. •Raw yautía can irritate some people's skin. You might want to wear rubber gloves when peeling and grating it.
• 4. Variations: •Filling Variations: Try using crabmeat, shrimp, lobster chopped chicken or chopped turkey simmer with a little sofrito. •Masa Variations: Besides yautía and green bananas, try using plantains, yuca (cassava) or potatoes in your masa. Some cooks add a little vinegar to the dough. It both flavors it and probably helps to keep it from browning too much. Chilling the masa first makes it easier to handle. •Alcapurrias freeze well. Place them on a baking sheet and put in the freezer until they are frozen. Then transfer them to an airtight bag and return to the freezer. Drop frozen alcapurrias directly into the hot oil to cook.