repocheta — Nicaragua

Repocheta is a savory fried cake from Nicaragua, built around finely grated cabbage bound together with egg and crumbled cheese. The mixture is shaped into small, flattened patties and cooked in a pan until the outside turns golden and slightly crisp while the inside stays soft and moist. The dish is reported from home kitchens across the country as well as market stalls and roadside stands, where it is sold as a quick snack to eat on the go. It also appears on family tables as a side dish, set beside rice and beans, or eaten plain with a squeeze of lime and a dash of hot sauce. To prepare it, the cabbage is shredded fine and lightly salted to draw out moisture, then squeezed dry before being mixed with beaten egg, crumbled cheese and a little flour to help the patties hold together. Small portions of the mixture are pressed flat and fried in a shallow layer of oil, turned once, until both sides are browned. Recipes for repocheta vary from one household to another. Some cooks add grated carrot or finely chopped onion to the mixture, others prefer a softer cheese that melts through the cake rather than a drier, crumbly one, and the size of the patties can range from bite-sized rounds to larger cakes meant to be cut and shared. The frying method also differs, with some cooks using a thin film of oil and others frying in a deeper pool for a crisper shell.