Recipe
For the filling:
1 pound of 80/20 ground beef
1 small onion cubed
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1/4 cup of chopped celery leaves
1 tablespoon green seasoning (OPTIONAL)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cup of white wine
1 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
For the Yuca:
2 pounds of yuca, boiled to fork tender
1 cup of carnation milk
1 cup of bread crumbs
2 cups of panko
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoon of the leaves of chinese celery or parsley
2 cups of vegetable oil for frying
2 eggs + 2 tablespoons of water
2 cups of panko breadcrumbs
Directions
Heat a skillet on the stove. Add the beef and brown it. Drain off the excess fat and discard it. Add the ground beef back into the skillet on the stove.
To the ground beef add the celery, onions, carrots, salt, black pepper, oregano. Mix and let the vegetables soften.
Add in the wine and tomato sauce. Lower the heat and cook until the sauce has cooked off. You do not want a runny sauce.
Set aside until ready to use.
If you do not have frozen pre-boiled yuca where you are, peel the yuca, cut it into 4 inch chunks and boil it until it is fork tender. Drain the water and allow to cool.
You can either grate the yuca, place it in a food processor OR mash it with a potato masher.
Before you do any of those, remove the woodsy stalk that is running down the middle of the yuca first. This inedible.
My preferred method of doing this is grating it if its a small amount. Only because it come out more fluffy. However I recommend using a food processor and pulsing it if you are doing a big batch.
Once you have grated your yuca, add the milk, eggs, celery leaves/parsley, salt, black pepper and paprika. Mix this well to combine everything.
Try to form a small ball in your hands with the mixture. Does it stick together? If it is too wet, add the breadcrumbs a little at a time until the mix starts to hold together.
To start filling the yuca with the beef, pinch off small amounts of the yuca and flatten it in the palm of your hands. Add about 2 teaspoons of the filling and close it up. Making sure the filling is not spilling out or showing. Form it into a tight ball. Then gently flatten it to form a small disc.
Once you have filled all your yuca. Place it into the fridge for 1 hour. This is to help it hold together.
Heat the oil in a pan to medium to high heat. You are basically only going to brown the outside and cook it until it is warm through as everything is already cooked.
In one pan, add two eggs with 1 tablespoon of water. Mix.
In another pan add the panko bread crumbs.
First dip each yuca patty into the egg wash, then into the panko. Place on a cookie sheet.
Fry in small batches so as to not crowd the pan.
Place on wax paper to drain. Serve hot.
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