I told you I was going to try to make rellenos de papa, and I did. Rellenos de papa is (are?) potato balls stuffed with something. I used vegan smoked provolone.

The recipe I used was from the Hispanic Food Network, and I liked it pretty well, although I think next time I’ll try using flour instead of cornflour and see what happens. They weren’t as cronchy as the ones we got in Elmira.

ANYWAY, go to the link above for the recipe. I followed it. Naturally, I used leftover mashed potatoes, but I caution you that it works better if the potatoes are a li’l bit warm. Cold, not so much.

So I filled my hand with mashed potatoes, squished up a wad of vegan cheese, put that in the middle, and rolled the potatoes around it so none of the cheese showed through. Rolled it in corn starch.

I have a tiny little saucepan, just big enough to heat food for one, so I poured a couple of inches of olive oil in that and fried the rellenos one or two at a time.

The point here is to brown and crisp the outside, since nothing has to actually cook cook.

I served my rellenos with Kentucky country green beans, which means they were cooked to a fare-thee-well. These were vegan, though, and were seasoned with Penzeys 4S seasoned smoked salt and liquid aminos rather than bacon grease. Just as good, actually.

A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Something — or someone — stuffed into something else.

MA