Recipes » Casseroles (Pastelones)

YAROA MIXTA (DOMINICAN

LOADED FRIES)

Yaroa, a dish that hails from Santiago, has

become the newest classic in Dominican street
food. Here's my take on it.

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Sometimes we're lucky to be alive to

witness the birth of history (culinary
history specifically). Yaroa is a newcomer
to the street food scene in the Dominican
Republic. This is a dish that checks every
box in the "best street foods" checklist.

WHAT'S YAROA?

It consists of a layer of boiled and mashed

ripe plantains -- or French fries --
topped with shredded or minced meat,
cheese, and drizzled with mayo and
ketchup [1]. Yaroa is a dish that was
created and made popular in Santiago by
street food vendors (carritos).

This is the quintessential street food:

cheap, greasy, tasty, simple. It's the kind
of thing that hits the spot after a night in
town for young revelers. A spot that was,
until it was created, reserved for chimi
and sandwich de pierna (Dominican
burger, and pork sandwich)

This dish reminds me of loaded French

fries or Canadian poutine. Same
concept, same devil-may-care
deliciousness to them (yes, I've tried
poutine).

THE HISTORY

As is the case with chimi, there is some

dispute as to who first created this dish.
With Yaroa there is more than one vendor
claiming the credit for themselves.

One thing we know for sure: It first

appeared in the late 1990s in Santiago,
quickly becoming popular in carritos
around and near El Monumento [2][3].
Its popularity has now spread beyond its
birthplace -- even debuting as part of the
menu of a well known Dominican fast-
food chain -- but, for the most part, it
remains a Santiago delicacy.

ABOUT THIS RECIPE

Yaroa purists beware (I don't even know if

such people exist, but I'm about to find
out) this recipe, while paying homage to
the original, is not the traditional one. If
you wish to make it the traditional way,
it's simple: deep fry your potato fries and
use them as the base. You can also use
boiled mashed plantain, as this is is the
other, equally popular, version of yaroa.
In that case, do not add ripe plantains to
the minced meat.

Now, why reinvent the wheel? Well, I

make these cepa de apio (celeriac) "fries"
all the time at home, so it occurred to me
that I could also use them to make yaroa.
And since I already wrote a recipe for a
minced meat filling that has ripe plantain
in it, this will still somehow be close to the
original. I tested the recipe with both
celeriac fries and potato fries, and both
worked, but which one you choose will be
a matter of taste. You could even get
adventurous and test it with sweet potato
fries too, but I didn't test that myself.

So let me tell you why you need to run to

make this: it's very easy to make, it's
ridiculously tasty, and you can feed an
army with little effort. Don't skip the ripe
plantain in the meat topping. You can
thank me later.

Buen provecho!

Mixed Yaroa [+ Video]

(Dominican Loaded Fries)
By: Clara Gonzalez

Pick from two types of healthier "fries",

add a layer of juicy minced beef mixed
with ripe plantains and serve the best
yaroa at home.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Guarda Pin

PREP TIME COOK TIME

20 mins 25 mins

TOTAL TIME
45 mins

COURSE CUISINE
Appetizer, Party Dominican

SERVINGS CALORIES
4 people 1104 kcal

INGREDIENTS

If you make celeriac fries

3 lb celeriac, , peeled and cut into
sticks [1.4 kg]
Enough water to cover the celeriac
¾ tbsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder

If you make potato fries

24 oz potato, , peeled and cut into
sticks [680 g] see notes
4 tbsp olive oil
¾ tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder

Meat
2 tbsp olive oil, [20g]
1 red onion, (medium-size, minced
[65 g]
3 cloves garlic, [20g]
1 lb minced beef, [454g]
1 cup tomato sauce, [115g]
1 bell pepper, (diced [76g]
1 ½ tsp salt, (or more, to taste),
divided
½ tsp pepper
1 sprig cilantro, (chopped)
½ cup diced fritos maduros,
(optional)

Toppings
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 cup shredded cheddar
⅓ cup ketchup
¼ cup mayonnaise

INSTRUCTIONS

If you're making celeriac fries

Microwaving the fries: Place the

celeriac sticks in microwave-safe
pan. Pour enough water to cover
them. Microwave for 3 minutes.
Remove from the microwave and
the water.

Whichever fries you make, continue

here

Seasoning the fries: Drizzle the

potato or celeriac with the olive oil,
and add the remaining salt, as well
as the pepper, and garlic powder.
Toss to coat them all in the oil and
seasoning.

Cooking the fries: Place on a

baking sheet and cook in preheated
oven to 350 ºF [175 ºC] for 25
minutes, or until they turn a light
golden color and are crispy around
the edges.

If you want to make them in the air

fryer, use the temperature and time
suggested by the manufacturer.

Meat

Cooking the meat: You can see

the preparation (with video) for the
meat in this post.

Keep it warm until it's time to

serve.

Assemble it

Serving: Layer the fries onto 4

microwave-safe plates. Top with
the steaming-hot meat. Sprinkle
with mozzarella and cheddar. The
hot meat should melt the cheese,
but if it doesn't, heat the plates in
the microwave for 90 seconds, or
until the cheese melts.

Drizzle with mayo and ketchup and

serve right away.

VIDEO

Yaroa Mixta (Dominican Lo…

NOTES AND TIPS

As an optional step, before you drizzle
the yaroa with it, add a tablespoon of
cold water to the ketchup and stir to
make it a little runnier. Do the same
with the mayo. Why add water to the
mayo and ketchup? Because I found
that runnier ketchup and mayo works
better here. Instead of tasting a
mouthful of mayo when biting into it,
the mayo and ketchup just kinda merge
and... OK. It's hard to explain, just try
it. If you don't like it, go back to normal
mayo and ketchup.

Rousset potatoes are best for this dish,

but whatever you have at hand will
work. You can use pre-cut potatoes too.

Nutritional info calculated with celeriac

fries.

NUTRITION
Calories: 1104kcal
Carbohydrates: 54g
Protein: 40g
Fat: 83g
Saturated Fat: 25g
Cholesterol: 138mg
Sodium: 2237mg
Potassium: 1875mg
Fiber: 9g
Sugar: 18g
Vitamin A: 2014IU
Vitamin C: 76mg
Calcium: 533mg
Iron: 6mg

READERS SEARCHED FOR

yaroa de platano maduro, yaroa de
santiago, yaroa dominicana, yaroa
light

REFERENCE

[1] Food Lovers - Las Populares Yaroas

[2] Listín Diario - Yaroa, Receta Urbana.
[3] Periódico Hoy - Yaroa: una novedosa delicia
culinaria de la cocina cibaeña

Edited: May 31, 2021 | Publish: Jul 9, 2020

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3 COMMENTS

! # $ Most Voted %

AmoLaFria ! July 18, 2020 11:53 AM &

Eso si taba bueno! I made it with potatoes in the air

fryer. I. am going to try it with sweet potatoes next. Do
I seanson the sweet potato the same way?

0 Reply View Replies (2) '

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