Ecuadorian Potato Cakes (Llapingachos)
Llapingachos Say it: yah-peen-GAH-chohs
Llapingachos are golden Ecuadorian potato cakes from the highlands around Ambato, made from mashed potato kneaded with achiote oil and stuffed with melting fresh cheese. They are pressed into fat little discs and fried until a crisp shell forms around a soft, savory center. Served with a spoonful of warm peanut sauce, they appear at breakfast, lunch and market stalls alike, and their mild, buttery flavor with a faint earthy achiote note makes them a favorite alongside grilled meat or a fried egg.
Ecuadorian Potato Cakes (Llapingachos)
Llapingachos
Pronounced yah-peen-GAH-chohs
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 1 hr 5 min
- Level
- Easy
Also egg-free.
Allergens: contains milk, peanuts. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
For the potato cakes
For the peanut sauce
Method
Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold salted water by 1 inch (2.5 cm), bring to a boil and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife slips in with no resistance. Drain well and let them steam in the colander for 5 minutes to dry out.
Pass the hot potatoes through a ricer or mash them thoroughly until completely smooth, then stir in the achiote oil and 1 tsp salt. Let the mash cool for 10 minutes so it firms up.
Stir the chopped onion into the grated cheese. Scoop about 1/3 cup (80 g) of potato into your palm, flatten it into a 3-inch (8 cm) disc, put a heaped tablespoon of cheese in the middle and pinch the potato closed around it.
Flatten each filled ball gently into a cake about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) thick and 3 inches (8 cm) wide, smoothing the edges so no cheese shows. Set them on a plate and chill for 15 minutes to help them hold together.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wide skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Fry the cakes in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side, without moving them too soon, until deep golden brown and the edges are crisp.
Drain on paper towels and keep warm while you make the sauce. Warm the milk in a small saucepan, whisk in the peanut butter, achiote oil, cumin, salt and onion, and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring, until thick and glossy.
Thin the peanut sauce with a splash more milk if it feels stiff, then taste and adjust the salt. Serve the llapingachos hot, with the warm sauce spooned over or alongside.
Regional variant: Llapingacho ambateño completo (full plate)
To serve it the Ambato way, fry one egg per person in the same pan and grill or pan-fry chorizo sausages. Plate two potato cakes per person with a fried egg on top, a sausage, sliced avocado, a spoonful of curtido (pickled red onion and tomato salad) and plenty of peanut sauce. The potato cakes themselves are made exactly as above.
Cook's notes
- Use starchy baking potatoes and mash them while hot; a dry mash is what keeps the cakes from falling apart.
- Chilling the shaped cakes for 15 minutes sets the surface so they brown without cracking in the pan.
- If your cheese is very salty, reduce the salt in the potato mixture accordingly.
Serve with
Warm peanut sauce, a fried egg, grilled chorizo, sliced avocado and a small curtido salad.
Make ahead and storage
Shape the cakes up to a day ahead and refrigerate, or fry them and reheat at 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes; the peanut sauce keeps 3 days chilled and loosens with a little milk.
