Con Salsa de Mani
"Ecuadorian Style Cheese Filled Sweet Potato Patties/Pancakes With A Spicy Peanut Sauce"
This is my Vegan version of the Ecuadorian classic. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 Pounds of Sweet Potatoes
Vegan Cashew Cheese
1 small red onion
2 Aji Peppers
2 Garlic cloves
1/2 tsp Ground Achiote
1 tsp Coconut Oil
Salt to taste
Ingredients For The Vegan Cashew Cheese Filling:
1 cup of Cashews (soak them for a few hours)
2 tablespoons of non-dairy Milk
1 tablespoon of fresh Lemon Juice
1 teaspoon Mild Yellow Miso (Chickpea or Soy)
1/2 tablespoon of Maple Syrup
Salt to taste
Directions:
Roast your potatoes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45min.
OR
You can boil the sweet potatoes until soft. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Once they are done, drain the water and pat the potatoes dry.
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Dice the onions and aji peppers. Mince the garlic.
Saute the onions, garlic, aji peppers and achiote over medium heat in coconut oil until the onions are soft.
Combine the onion mixture with the sweet potatoes. Mash the mixture together. Salt to taste.
Shape the potato dough into balls with your palms. About 1/4 cup each.
Make a hole in the middle of each one.
Fill each ball with about 1 -2 teaspoons of Vegan cheese.
Put an extra dollop of the potato mixture on top of the balls to cover the hole. Then use your palm to press down on the ball to flatten the ball and create a patty.
Let them rest and firm up in the refrigerator for about an hour.
Cook the patties in a frying pan for about 4-6 min on each side til they're golden brown.
Directions for the Cheese:
Soak the cashews up to 24 hours. The longer you soak them, the creamier the cheese will be.
Put all the cheese ingredients into the food processor or blender. Pulse til you get the consistency you want. You want it to be creamy but still crumbly.
(Peanut Sauce)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Natural Peanut Butter
1 cup Non-Dairy Milk
1/2 small Onion
1 Garlic clove
1 Aji Pepper
1 Tomato
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Ground Achiote
Juice of 1 medium Lime
a few sprigs of finely chopped Cilantro
Salt to taste
Directions for making the Salsa de Mani:
Put all the ingredients in a pot except for the cilantro. Stir well.
Simmer and reduce for a few minutes.
Add the cilantro at the end.
Puree with a hand held blender. (optional)
SUBSTITUTIONS:
I know some of these ingredients may be hard to find. So here are my suggestions. If you can't find Aji pepper, you might find Aji paste or use any pepper you like. I've made this with Habaneros and it was really good.
If you can't find Achiote, you might be able to find achiote paste or Annatto seed which you grind up to make Achiote powder. If you can't find either, you could substitute with Saffron or Turmeric. It's not the same but it'll taste good anyways.
If you don't want to make your own Cashew Cheese, you can always substitute with any of the
Vegan cheeses out there.
You don't have to use Miso in the cheese, I just happen to like it. You also don't need to add Maple Syrup if you prefer a sharper tasting cheese.