Another recipe for yuca lovers!

This recipe mixes two of my favourite foods: yuca and cheese! Remember the viral cheese potato balls? Well these are even better because the yuca gets even more deliciously crispy and has the most incredible flavour once you fry it. And if this is not reason enough to try this recipe I filled them with mozzarella cheese for the ultimate cheesy delicious bomb.

Yuca buñuelos are a typical recipe in many Hispanic countries including Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Cuba or Ecuador. They evolved from Spanish buñuelos which were fried sweet dough balls made with wheat flour instead. There are many ways of consuming buñuelos but one of the most traditional is to top them with papelon (cane sugar syrup) and cheese. I’ve also seen versions in which they are filled with dulce the leche for a sweeter dessert version.

I am making a more savoury version by incorporating a good strong mature cheddar into the batter and filling them with mozzarella. I love topping them with some honey for a bit of a sweet/savoury contrast. These make the perfect snack of dinner starter!

🌱Vegetarian

🍽️ 4 portions

Ingredients

• 500g peeled yuca/cassava root

• 120g parmesan/cheddar cheese

• 2 tbsp cornstarch

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 tsp salt

• Optional: mozzarella cheese to fill

Method

• Peel the yuca by cutting off the tips and then longitudinally along the skin. Cut into quarters. Make sure the yuca doesn’t have any black spots as this usually means it is spoiled and it won’t taste good. Alternatively you can use frozen pre-cut yuca.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook sliced yuca until it starts to turn translucent and can be pierced easily with a fork, about 35-40 minutes. Drain off water and leave the yuca to cool down for 5min. Remove the darker fibrous inner core of the yuca.

• Mash the cooked yuca with a potato masher. Add the cheese, cornflour, salt and egg and keep mashing until obtaining a dough.

• Spread some oil into your hands to avoid sticking of the dough. Divide the dough into portions of about 25g and shape each of these into a ball with your hands. Flatten the dough into a disc with your hands and place a square of the cheese inside. Make a ball again with your hands to make sure the cheese is totally covered. Transfer the buñuelos to a tray and cool in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes

• Fill a small saucepan with olive/sunflower oil to deep fry the buñuelos and bring to medium high heat (it will take around 4-5 minutes for the oil to get to the right temperature. Fry your buñuelos in batches of three for 3-4 minutes until they turn golden brown. Make sure to turn them while they fry so they cook evenly.

• Remove buñuelos from the oil and transfer to a dish covered with kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Enjoy while hot!

FAQS and Tips

• You can make the dough in advance and then shape it, fill it with cheese and fry once ready.

• You can substitute the mozzarella for other melty cheeses such as brie, camembert or taleggio

• If your buñuelos disintegrate when you fry them it can mean that the dough had too much moisture. You can try to add a bit more of cornstarch to the dough to make sure they hold their shape while you fry them