Buñuelos de yuca con queso (Cassava Fritters with Cheese)
Buñuelos de yuca con queso (Cassava Fritters with Cheese) is a traditional Nicaraguan recipe for a classic dessert or snack of fried cassava, flour, sugar and egg dough served with a panela syrup. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nicaraguan dish of: Cassava Fritters with Cheese (Buñuelos de yuca con queso).
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These are traditional Venezuelan cassava fritters incorporating finely grated white cheese in the dough. They are fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and are served topped with papelón syrup. The papelón, also known as panela s an unrefined whole cane sugar, typical of Latin America. It is a solid form of sucrose derived from the boiling and evaporation of sugarcane juice similar to Indian jaggery, which can be used as a substitute.
Ingredients:
500g of peeled and chopped cassava
1 tbsp of butter
200g of grated white cheese (any hard cheese like ghouda or parmesan)
2 tbsp of wheat flour or cornflour
1 tbsp of sugar
1 egg, lightly-beaten
1/8 teaspoon of salt
For the syrup:
200g brown sugar
120ml of water
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves
Method:
Begin with the syrup: In a small saucepan, combine the sugar with the other ingredients. Cook over medium heat until you get a thick syrup. Strain to remove the spices and any other impurities. Set aside to keep warm as you prepare the buñuelos.
Bring a pan of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add the cassava and cook for 15–20 minutes until fork tender.
Drain and transfer to a bowl then remove the central fibre from the cassava pieces.
Add the butter and whilst still warm mash the cassava with a fork or potato masher. Add the remaining ingredients: grated cheese, wheat flour, sugar, the lightly beaten egg, and salt. Mix everything well to achieve a homogeneous dough that can be rolled into balls. Don't add more flour to avoid making the dough too dense.
In the meantime, heat oil for deep frying in a wok, deep pan or deep fryer to 180C
Take portions of the dough (about a heaped tablespoon) and roll them into balls using wet hands. Drop into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, (don't over-crowd the pan). Once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon or spicer then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain.
Arrange the buñuelos in a bowl, pour over the papelón syrup and serve.
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