Recipe

Ñame a lo trinitario with spearmint and cinnamon

Name: Ñame a lo trinitario with spearmint and cinnamon
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 135 min
Ingredients: 500 g white yam, weighed raw and already peeled; 20 g lard; 6 small fresh spearmint leaves, very finely chopped; 1 pinch of salt; Up to 2 tablespoons of the yam cooking water (only if needed); 1 medium egg, beaten; 40 g sugar; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 50 g wheat flour (adjustment in our domestic version); Up to 15 g more wheat flour, reserved (about 2 tablespoons); Water to boil the yam (approx. 1.5 l); 750 ml vegetable oil for frying, plus a few drops for hands; 1 tablespoon sugar; ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Fried balls of mashed yam with lard, spearmint, egg, sugar, and cinnamon, adapted from a 19th-century Cuban cookbook.

CiberCubaNovember 7, 2026

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Preparation45 min
Cooking45 min
Total time2 h 15 min
Servings6 small servings (about 40 balls of 3 cm)
DifficultyMedium

Ñame a lo trinitario appears under that name in the Nuevo manual del cocinero cubano y español by J. P. Legran, a cookbook with an edition from 1864. The entry describes a cooked and mashed yam with lard, spearmint, water, egg, sugar, and cinnamon, which is then fried. It is a simple and curious preparation, halfway between a root vegetable dish and a sweet, offering us a glimpse into 19th-century Cuban cuisine.

What we propose here is a domestic reconstruction, not a literal copy. Cookbooks from that era measured by eye or in small bowls, so we have converted everything to current grams and tablespoons. We also add a little wheat flour so the balls withstand frying: this is our adjustment and is not part of the original text.

The result is small balls, golden on the outside with a light crumb inside, featuring green specks of spearmint and a cinnamon aroma. They are served as is, warm and without syrup, as an afternoon snack or dessert.

Method

The mashing

Peel the yam, cut it into pieces about 4 cm long, and wash well to remove the slime.
Place the pieces in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes, until a knife enters without any resistance. Before draining, reserve half a glass of the cooking water.
Drain the yam thoroughly and return it to the hot pot, off the heat, for 2-3 minutes to release steam and become dry.
Transfer to a bowl and, while still hot, mash with a potato masher along with the lard, salt, and chopped spearmint, until you have a puree without large lumps. Work it little so it does not become gummy. If it is too dry, add the reserved cooking water one tablespoon at a time, 2 maximum.
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Let the puree cool for about 15 minutes, until you can touch it with your hand without burning. This way the egg will not coagulate when added.

The dough

Incorporate the beaten egg and mix quickly with a wooden spoon until fully integrated.
Add the 40 g sugar, the ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and the 50 g flour. Mix only until you have a soft, homogeneous dough, ivory-colored with green specks and a light cinnamon tone. If it sticks too much to your fingers, add flour from the reserve, one tablespoon at a time.
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Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, until firm enough to shape.
Grease your hands with a few drops of oil and form balls about 3 cm (about 15-16 g of dough each). You should get about 40. Place them, without touching, on a tray or plate.
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The frying

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 170-175 °C. Fry one test ball first for 3-4 minutes and open it: the center must be hot and cooked, with no raw dough or liquid egg. If it opens in the oil, add a little more flour to the dough. If it browns before cooking through inside, lower the heat or make the balls slightly smaller.
Fry in batches of 7-8 balls, turning them with a slotted spoon, for 3-4 minutes per batch, until evenly golden, without letting the sugar burn. Remove and drain on absorbent paper.
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If desired, mix the tablespoon of sugar with the ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle the balls while still warm. Serve warm, without syrup.

Tips and variations

Timing. Active time is around 90 minutes: about 45 for preparation (peeling, mashing, mixing, and shaping) and about 45 on the heat (boiling the yam and frying in batches). Add about 45 minutes of waiting time: 15 for the puree to cool and 30 in the fridge. In total, around 2 hours and a quarter.

About the yam. Use edible white yam (Dioscorea genus), not sweet potato or malanga, as they change the flavor and texture. When peeling it, it releases a slime that stings some people's skin: thin gloves help. Always cook it until very tender. The 500 g are weighed raw and already peeled.

About the adaptation. The original cookbook mentions water in small bowls. Here we use only a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water, and only if the puree is too dry. The flour (50 g, plus a small reserve) is the adjustment in our version so the dough can be shaped and does not open up in the oil. If your yam turns out very dry, you may not need the reserve.

Frying point. Each 3 cm ball needs 3-4 minutes at 170-175 °C. If they brown in less than 2 minutes, the oil is too hot: the sugar will burn and the center may remain raw. Lower the heat. Always open the test ball.

Presentation of this adaptation. Served as small balls, without filling or syrup bath. The sprinkling of sugar with cinnamon is optional.

Storage. They are best freshly made and warm. The dough contains raw egg: keep it in the fridge and fry it on the same day. Refrigerate leftover balls in a covered container within two hours after frying. Consume them the next day and reheat them in the oven until well heated through.

Sources. Entry «Ñame a lo trinitario» in the digitized text of the Nuevo manual del cocinero cubano y español and bibliographic record of the 1864 edition in the library of the Real Academia de Gastronomía.