plate 48: colombia

To Colombia I go. (Not Columbia with a "u" - spelt this way and it's the capital city of South Carolina in the US.) I know I should've consulted my dear Anna - who is half-Colombian - about this, but time, as it so sneakily does, got away from me. My first thought was dessert, unsurprising really, and I considered making rice pudding because Anna's mum - the lovely Lucy - makes a mean one. But then I came across papas rellenas - translated as "stuffed potato" - on a site called My Colombian Recipes. The chica responsible for the blog is called Erica and apparently it's her Colombian grandmother's recipe. Thanks!

I chose the recipe because, um, well, it's no ordinary stuffed potato. It's mashed potato, rolled into balls, stuffed, then deep-fried. That's right, deep-fried mashed potato. Never have I thought of deep-frying mash before. It seemed ingenious, naughty and delicious. A must-make. I've read that potato and corn jostle for the title of most important foodstuff in South America. While I've been loving the juicy, intensely sweet corn we've been eating of late, I do prefer spuds to kernel clusters - it gets so annoying when those little stringy bits of corn get stuck in your teeth.

Erica explains these balls of mashed potato stuffed with a meat and vegie filling are a popular breakfast in Colombia. Breakfast? Perhaps it's not all that weird actually. I know Sal's Gus loves mashed potato on toast for brekkie.

I was a wee bit nervous about how I was going to form balls of mash to stuff with mince, thinking the mash would be wet and a little sloppy. But leaving it to sit for a while as I cooked the meat filling made it firm up and go a bit sticky, which made rolling and shaping much easier.

After making basic mash, you just roll it into a ball then flatten on your palm to form a patty of sorts. Spoon on a little minced meat filling - cooked with tomato, shallots, garlic and cumin - then shape the mash around the filling to encase and coat in a simple batter before immersing in sizzling oil.

The papas didn't hold their shape as well as I would have hoped. Could have been because the half bottle of vegetable oil still wasn't quite the quantity required to make a deep enough frying pool, but they still crisped up and turned a lustrous light gold.

As for the taste - fabulous! With a soft crunch on the outside and a fluffy centre, papas rellenas are like cottage pie in swimmers - a winter dish given summer style, mainly because of the deliciously fresh aji sauce dribbled over the top of them. Studded with chillies, fresh coriander, tomato and shallots, and tinged with tangy lime juice and sugar, this vinegar-based sauce was the perfect accompaniment. I can definitely see myself spreading any leftover papas over toast. A fair effort Colombia, a fair effort indeed.