Crispy Cuban Papa Rellenas

Recipe below: Today I'm making one of my favorite Cuban comfort foods: papa rellena. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and filled with flavorful meat mixture. This is a classic you'll find in Cuban homes and cafeterias and bakeries. Papa Rellenas Picadillo:  2 pounds ground beef, at least 88% lean  2 tablespoons vegetable oil  1 yellow onion, diced  ¼ slice green pepper, seedless  1 bay leaf  1 teaspoon kosher salt  3 garlic cloves  2 teaspoons oregano  1 teaspoon ground cumin  8 oz tomato sauce  ¼ cup red cooking wine  ¼ cup white cooking wine  ¾ cup water  1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt 1. In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Turn on to medium heat. When you start to see the ripples in the oil and it’s hot, add the onion, green pepper, and bay leaf. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 2 minutes. 2. Add garlic and cook for another minute. After, make a small space in the middle of the pan and add the oregano and the cumin. Toast the spices for 15 seconds, then mix everything together. 3. Add the ground beef. Flatten with the back of the spoon to break up the meat. Continue to cook on medium heat until all of the pink is gone and all of the ground beef is broken up. 4. You can drain the meat at this point if you have too much fat. Add tomato sauce, red wine, white wine, water, and salt. Lower to medium low. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. Papa Rellena:  Half of the picadillo recipe (see recipe for picadillo)  4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut in 1-inch cubes  ½ cup milk  2 tablespoons melted butter  1 tablespoon kosher salt  Italian breadcrumbs  eggs  ½ teaspoon kosher salt  Picadillo, chilled  Mashed potato, chilled 1. Peel potatoes and wash. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Add them to a pot of cold water and set to boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender but not mushy. In a sauce pan, add milk and butter. Warm until the butter has just melted. 2. Drain potatoes. Return them to pot and mash them with a hand mixer. There shouldn’t be any water or lumps in the potatoes. 3. Add the milk and butter to the potatoes and mix until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool. Refrigerate 4 hours. 4. In a bowl, whisk eggs until they are liquified. In a tray or shallow plate, add Italian breadcrumbs. Dust one hand with breadcrumbs to avoid the mashed potato sticking to your hand. Add ¼ cup of mashed potatoes to your hand and flatten like a pancake. 5. Add ¼ cup of picadillo. Start forming a blow in your hand with the potatoes. Add ¼ of potatoes on top and make sure the potato is covering the picadillo and it’s formed into a ball. Roll and cover it in the breadcrumbs and freeze for 40 minutes. 6. Take them out and dip in egg wash, drain well and cover in breadcrumbs. Freeze for 20 more minutes and coat them again in egg wash and breadcrumbs one more time. Once they are all breaded, freeze for 35-45 minutes. 7. Heat up oil in a deep pot or use a deep fryer. Heat up oil to 325 degrees F. Carefully add one at a time, no more than 2 to 3 at a time. Fry until golden brown. If you over fry, they will crack. Carefully drain them onto a paper towel. Transfer the to a sheet pan with parchment paper to a 200-degree F oven for 10 minutes. Let stand for 1 minute and serve.