Stuffed Mashed Potato Balls

Ingredients for cooking ground beef (Picadillo for the stuffing):
1 tbsp dry oregano
salt to taste
4 garlic cloves or to taste, peeled
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can chopped pimentos (second larger size)
2 packages Sazon con Culantro y Achiote Goya seasoning
2 lbs ground beef
5 cans water (use pimentos can for measuring)
salt to taste
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp olive oil

Procedure for cooking ground beef:
Using pestle, grind oregano and salt in mortar. Place them in small size container. Using pestle, grind garlic in mortar. Add garlic to the container that has the oregano and salt.

Place inside a large pot the following ingredients: green peeper, onion, and garlic mixture. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes at medium heat.

Add to the pot the following ingredients: pimentos, sazon, ground beef, water, salt, oil, and bay leaves. Using a metal spoon, stir ingredients to mix them all together. Stir mix occasionally and continue cooking at medium heat until meat is cooked. Remove pan from stove and let it cool down to room temperature.

Ingredients for making Mashed Potatoes:
2 lbs potatoes
1 egg
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp corn starch (Maicena)
Salt
Water

Procedure for making Mashed Potatoes:
Rinse potatoes with water and cut them in halves. Put potatoes inside a 4-5 quart Dutch oven (cooking pot). Add water, and make sure you cover all the potatoes with water. Add 1 tsp of salt. Turn heat to medium high for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Turn off stove, drain water from potatoes, and place potatoes in large bowl. Remove potatoes skin and mashed potatoes using a fork or mashing potatoes utensil.

Add egg, butter, corn starch, and 1/2 tbsp of salt. Continue mashing the potatoes until all ingredients are mixed well. Place mashed potatoes mix on refrigerator and let it cool down for 30-40 minutes or until the mix has reached room temperature.

Ingredients for making Stuffed Mashed Potatoes Balls:
- Mashed Potatoes Mixture already cooled to room temperature
- Corn Starch (Maicena)
- Cooked Ground Beef (Picadillo ya cocido)
- Cooking oil

Procedure for making Stuffed Mashed Potatoes Balls:
Split the mashed potatoes mix into 10-12 round balls of approximately 2 to 2 1/2-inches diameter.

Cover the palm of the hands with corn starch. Grab one of the balls and make a hole into it with your fingers (without going all the way across the ball). The hole should be large enough to let you place inside it 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp of cooked ground beef. Repeat the last two steps above for the rest of the balls.

Place 3-4 balls to fry in a Deep Fryer. Make sure you put enough cooking oil in fryer to cover all the balls. Leave the Stuffed Mashed Potatoes Balls frying until they turn golden brown. Remove the Stuffed Mashed Potatoes Balls from fryer and drain on paper towel.

Serve as appetizers or to accompany a good Puerto Rican meal.