Chessy and crispy round balls of joy!

Cheese buñuelos are definitely one of my favourite Colombian recipes (almost more than arepas if I dare to say). They have a soft and pillowy texture inside while they are super crispy on the outside. Typically consumed during Christmas although for me they are so easy to make and delcious that they should be an all year round food. You may also recongnise them from the Disney movie Encanto, when Julieta Madrigal makes them!

While buñuelos are quite widespread throughout South America, with lots of different variations using cassava flour, cornflour or plain flour, in Colombia they are typically made with cornstarch and some tapioca starch (also known as cassava or yuca). The tapioca starch is higher in starch compared to the cornflour and adds a bit of a chewier texture to the buñuelos! Also queso costeño is added to the dough, which is a semi hard and salty cheese. Since this cheese is not readily available in the UK where I live, I substituted with feta, which gives a savoury edge that you will love!

🌱Vegetarian

🍽️ 4-6 portions

Ingredients

• 230g cornstarch (US) / cornflour (UK)

• 45g tapioca starch

• 250g feta cheese

• 1 egg

• 100g milk

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• Oil to fry

Method

• In a mixing bowl add the cornstrach and tapioca starch, crumbled feta, sugar, salt, baking powder and egg, mix with a spoon

• Slowly add the milk little by little while mixing as the flour absorbs the liquid very fast. I like to knead it with my hands for a couple of minutes. You should achieve a playdough consistency. If it is very crumbly add 1tsp of milk at a time. Leave the dough to rest in the fridge for 10-20mi

• Make the buñuelos by taking pieces of dough of around 30g and shaping them into balls with the palm of your hands

• Now it is time to fry your buñuelos in a pot/saucepan filled with oil (or deep fryer). The oil temperature is very important as if it is too hot the buñuelos would pop and the dough would burst out into the oil. One way to check that the temperature is around 170C if you don’t have a thermometer is to make a small test buñuelo and add it into the oil, if it rises up after 10-15 seconds, the temperature is correct!

• Once you have achieved the right temperature fry the buñuelos in batches of 3-4. They should turn around by themselves due to their round texture, achieving a golden colour when they are ready (about 5-8 minutes). Then you can move them from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to dry off the excess oil.

• Enjoy while hot !

FAQS and Tips

• Can I make them in the airfryer? No, they need to be deepfried since the dough is quite soft and otherwise they don’t achieve the right shape and crispy consistency. Don’t be afraid of frying though! I use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for a good sauce of healthy fats and since the oil temperature is below the smoking point of olive oil, it preserves all it’s wonderful properties.

• Once the dough is ready you can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days or you can freeze it for up to a month. If you freeze leave it to defrost overnight in the fridge before using it.

• Buñuelos can be reheated in the airfryier for at 120C for 6 minutes

• If you use the traditional queso costeño, you may need to add a bit more of milk to the dough as it is a drier cheese.

• You can substitute the tapioca starch with cornstarch although for optimal texture keep the tapioca starch