Along Colombia's Caribbean coast, in Cartagena, Barranquilla and the towns of Córdoba and Sucre, breakfast is often fried and bought from a street vendor's cart. Carimañolas are among the stars: torpedoes of boiled, mashed cassava stuffed with seasoned ground beef, shredded chicken or the region's salty white cheese, then fried until the outside is crisp and blistered and the inside stays soft and almost creamy. They are just as much at home across the water in Panama, where they turn up on platters of fried snacks, and they belong to a wide family of cassava fritters found throughout Latin America.

Cassava, called yuca in Colombia, has no gluten, so the dough is nothing more than the cooked root mashed with salt while still warm. It is sticky, a little temperamental and wonderfully forgiving once you have the knack of wet hands. Dip each one in suero, the coast's thick, tangy soured cream, chase it with a spoonful of ají, and the sense of being somewhere hot by the sea arrives regardless of the forecast.

The beef filling

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1/2 medium white onion
• 3 green onions
• 1/2 small red bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small ripe tomato
• 8 oz (225 g) ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup (60 g) queso costeño or substitute

Method

1. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the white onion, green onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and cook 3 minutes more.
2. Add the beef, cumin, salt and pepper. Break up the meat with the wooden spoon into very small crumbs and cook, stirring, for 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Spread the filling on a plate and let it cool completely, about 20 minutes, or chill it. Taste and add salt if needed; it should be well seasoned. Keep the crumbled cheese separate until shaping.

The cassava dough

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lb (1.1 kg) fresh yuca
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

Method

1. Cut the yuca into pieces about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. Stand each piece on its end and cut down the sides with the knife to remove the brown skin and the pink layer underneath. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.
2. Put the yuca in the large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches (5 cm) and add a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes.
3. Drain well. While still hot, pull out and discard the woody string from the center of each piece. Put the yuca in the large bowl with the salt and mash thoroughly with the masher or press it through the ricer.
4. When the dough is cool enough to handle but still warm, knead it in the bowl with damp hands for 1 minute until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Cover with a damp towel so it does not dry out.

Shaping and frying

Ingredients

• 6 cups (1.4 liters) vegetable oil

Method

1. Wet your hands. Take a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball, around 2 oz (55 g), and press it into an oval about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick in your palm.
2. Put a heaped tablespoon of beef filling and a little crumbled cheese down the middle. Fold the dough up around it and pinch the seams firmly closed, then roll it gently between your palms into a torpedo about 4 inches (10 cm) long, pointed at both ends. Patch any cracks with a little extra dough. Set on the lined baking sheet and repeat.
3. Heat the oil in the heavy pot to 350°F (175°C), filling it no more than half full.
4. Lower 4 or 5 carimañolas into the oil with the slotted spoon, one at a time. Fry for 4 to 6 minutes, turning them gently halfway, then lift onto the rack. Let the oil return to 350°F (175°C) before the next batch.

Suero and ají to serve

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) sour cream
• 1/2 cup (120 g) plain whole milk yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 small hot red or green chili
• 1/4 small white onion
• 1/4 cup (10 g) cilantro
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) white vinegar or lime juice
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water

Method

1. Stir the sour cream, yogurt and salt together until smooth. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to develop a little tang, then chill.
2. Mix the chili, onion, cilantro, vinegar, water and a good pinch of salt in a small bowl. Leave for 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.

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