These Colombian Potato Cakes (Lapingachos) are a wonderful side dish or appetizer. They are easy to make and full of flavor.
What are Lapingachos?
Lapingachos are a traditional Colombian dish from the El Nariño region of Colombia. They are basically mashed potato cakes cooked until crispy and golden brown. To make this recipe you will need potatoes, hogao (Colombian creole sauce), achiote, cumin, egg yolks, salt and pepper.
These delicious potato cakes are typically served with ají de maní (Colombian peanut sauce) as a side dish with fried food and a light salad on the side.
Potato Cakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 Russet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup of hogao
- 1 teaspoon of ground achiote saffron or color
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 egg yolks lightly beaten
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Ají de mani for serving
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes in salted water over medium high heat until fork tender. Drain and mash them.
- Add the hogao, achiote, cumin, egg yolks, salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Cover the potato mixture and let it sit at room temperature for about one hour.
- Make small thick patties and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
- Heat a nonstick fry pan or griddle over medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil.
- Cook the potato cakes for about 2 minutes, carefully flip them and cook on the other side until golden, about 1 minute more. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
This potato cakes recipe is very easy to put together and you can even use leftover mashed potatoes to make it easier. Perfect for a dinner party or a weeknight meal. You can serve them with steak, chicken, fish, or any other meat. You could even serve them with roasted vegetables or a green salad for a vegetarian meal.
More potato recipe to try!
Colombian Salted Potato (Papa Salada)
Jenn and Seth
those are gorgeous! i'd love to eat these for dinner - they look so delicious!
Aida rankin
It's look yummy I must try it.
Belinda @zomppa
The pancakes look awesome, though admittedly, I'm enamoured by the sauce!
Norma-Platanos, Mangoes and Me!
This will definitely be part of my reserved recipes....
Lyndsey@TheTinySkillet
I just love your snack foods...looks so delicious!
Chris
I thought these were sweet potatoes due to the color but then I saw you used russet and achiote to get that golden color. Nice work, Erica!
Silvia
I swear: the best sweepstakes prize would be to dine at your house for a week. The food you make is amazing. I hope you publish a book some day because you deserve tons of attention! I can only come to this blog right after I've eaten-otherwise a visit here constitutes masochism!
Erica
Thank you,Silvia! I appreciate your wonderful comment 🙂
April
These potato cakes are absolutely fantastic. I served mine with grilled salmon and we loved them. I made another batch and placed them in the fridge for this weekend.
Erica
Thank you!
felix
this failed for me
Erica
Why, Felix?
Alan Bowman
We used to have fried mashed potato as an accompaniment to cold-cuts. Sometimes we would add left over boiled cabbage - "bubble and squeak". The mashed potato can also have grated cheese added and shaped into a patty with a cup-shape on one side into which you crack an egg then put into a hot oven until the egg has set. "eggs in a nest."
Maria
A W E S O M E ! Easy, quick and super yummy. Thanks for sharing.
Caroll
Fantástico! No sabía que se llamaban así. Pública un libro de comida colombiana que hace falta.