Bolinhos de Mandioca/Mandioca Balls
‘Bolinhos de mandioca’ are deep fried mandioca balls.
Makes about 20 croquettes
Ingredients:
1 kg of mandioca fresh or frozen
1 cup of strong parmesan or mozzarella cheese
1 egg
3 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1 cup of plain flour
1 tablespoon of oregano
½ cup of onion grated (optional)
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil to fry
Cooking the mandioca: If not already pre-prepared, peel the
vegetable and discard the core (this part is not cooked). Cut into small cubes
for boiling. Add salt to the water (as you would for potatoes) and cook until
soft. Once the mandioca is soft it is ready for mashing. Drain the water. Mash
the mandioca with the butter. Using a wooden spoon mix in the egg, cheese,
oregano and seasoning. Add the olive oil and mix together well until you have a
sticky consistency. Finally add the flour, a bit at a time, and mix hard with a
wooden spoon. The consistency should be thick and stick to the spoon. The
mixture is ready to make the balls.
Rub your hands with a bit of oil and take a small amount of
the mix and roll into a ball with your hands. The oil prevents the sticky
mixture sticking to your hands. Meanwhile, heat the cooking oil to a high
temperature and drop your balls into the cooking oil and fry for a few minutes,
or until golden brown. They don’t take long to cook. They don’t need to be
cooked much inside as the mixture is already cooked and the cheese will have
melted into a delicious soft mix. Serve with chilies, olive oil and lime juice.
Fantastic.