Enyucados

Name: Enyucados
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Costa Rica
Ingredients: 800 g fresh or frozen cassava; 200 g firm fresh cheese such as mozzarella; 1 egg; 1½ tsp salt; 1 pinch nutmeg; 3 tbsp cornflour; 1 litre frying oil; 150 g sour cream, to serve

Cassava croquettes stuffed with cheese and fried until crisp, a fixture of Costa Rican roadside sodas.

Published on 4 August 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

Gluten-free#cassava#cheese#croquettes#frying#snack

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 50 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Peel the cassava and pull out the central fibre. Cut it into lengths and boil in salted water for 25 minutes.
Drain and mash the cassava while hot with a ricer, working it until no lumps remain.
Mix in the egg, salt, nutmeg and cornflour. Knead by hand into a pliable dough.
Cut the cheese into 5 cm batons.
Take a ball of dough, flatten it in your palm, set a cheese baton in the middle and seal it into a log.
Heat the oil to 175°C and fry the croquettes for 4 minutes, turning them halfway.
Drain on kitchen paper and serve with the sour cream.

Cassava has to be mashed hot. Once it cools its starch retracts, the dough cracks in the oil, and the cheese escapes before it reaches the plate.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.

This recipe also appears in

Gluten-free recipes

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 819 kcal
Protein: 8.5 g
Fat: 49.4 g
Carbohydrate: 87.1 g
Fibre: 3.7 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why remove the fibrous core of the cassava?

The woody cord running through the middle of the root never softens and leaves hard threads in the mash. Split the pieces lengthways and pull it out, which is easiest after peeling and before boiling.

Why mash the cassava while it is still hot?

Its starch retracts as it cools, and dough worked cold turns lumpy and cracks in the fryer, letting the cheese escape. Riced while hot, it gives a smooth dough that is easy to shape.

Which cheese will stay put inside?

A firm, low-moisture cheese such as well-drained mozzarella, cut into sticks. Very wet cheeses release water and burst the croquettes. Seal the stick in completely, leaving no opening in the dough.

Why falafel falls apart in the pan
One mistake explains the overwhelming majority of falafel that disintegrates in hot oil. The six other causes, and why flour and egg fix nothing.

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