Bolivian Papitas Recipe
Papitas are a Bolivian delicacy made with quinoa stuffed with tuna. To prepare them, quinoa grains are cooked until tender and then combined with bread soaked in milk and eggs. The mixture is formed into a paste and shaped into balls. These balls are then stuffed with a tuna filling, slightly flattened, and fried until golden.
Ingredients
- Eggs – 5
- Quinoa – 1 lb
- White bread, slices – 5
- Canned tuna in water, well-drained – 16 oz
- Milk – ½ cup
- Chili pepper, finely chopped – 1
- Lemons – 2
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Salt – to taste
- Pepper – to taste
Instructions
- Put the bread slices to soak in the milk.
- Using a fine strainer rinse the quinoa until the water is clear.
- Boil the quinoa for about 15 minutes in about 6 cups of water. Keep covered and don’t salt until the end of cooking.
- Drain the water and let the quinoa cool in a colander.
- In a large bowl, mix two eggs with the cooked quinoa.
- Add the soaked slices of bread.
- Mix until a smooth paste forms. In another bowl mix the remaining three eggs with the tuna, chili pepper, lemon zest and juice, and season with salt and pepper.
- Scoop up a small portion of the cooked quinoa and form a ball.
- Make a hole in it and stuff with the tuna filling.
- Take some more quinoa to close the patty and shape it nicely into a flattened ball.
- Repeat with the remaining quinoa and filling.
- Heat the oil to about 350F.
- Fry the papitas for about two minutes on each side. They must be golden brown and nicely crusted on one side before flipping them to the other to prevent breaking.
- When they’re ready, place them on paper towels to drain out the excess oil. Enjoy them warm or cold with some lemon juice.
Nutrition
Calories: 269kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 22gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 438mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3g
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