Peruvian stuffed potato croquettes with beef picadillo (Papas rellenas)

1. Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, peel, mash while warm and leave to cool; knead with salt, pepper and one egg into a smooth, mouldable dough.

2. For the filling, hard-boil two eggs and dice them. Soften the finely chopped onion in the oil for 8 minutes, add the crushed garlic, ají panca paste and cumin, then the minced beef and fry for 10 minutes, breaking it up; stir in the raisins, chopped olives and egg, salt and leave to cool.

3. Divide the potato dough into 8 portions; with wet hands flatten each into a palm-sized disc, put plenty of filling in the centre and wrap the potato around it to form an egg-shaped croquette.

4. Roll the croquettes in flour, dip in beaten egg and chill for 30 minutes so they don't fall apart when fried.

5. Heat the oil to 180 °C and fry the papas rellenas for 2-3 minutes, turning, until golden; drain on kitchen paper.

6. For the salsa criolla, slice the red onion into thin half-moons, toss with lime juice, salt and chopped coriander and serve alongside the hot croquettes.

Tip: The trick is the potato: the drier it is, the easier it is to shape – let it steam off after boiling, or bake it in its skin in the oven.