Since Calle Ocho opened in upper west side, I sooooo loved their little cheesy buns served at the table. Bugged chef Alex Garcia for recipe a few years back, he gave me a recipe card using their “flour mix” which he gave me 2 buckets of it (grateful). Felt this yuca flour concoction is so rare to come by that I would not ever use them — so I kept going back to the restaurant for dinner in order to get these buns and always asked to bring a basket home (silly me 
)
Finally googled for the recipe and found out what that secret flour is made of. Making pan de bono for the first time tonight using recipe I found online combined with the recipe chef Garcia gave me, came out perfectly using an ice cream scoop to shape. I am taking advantage of my new neighborhood where all these ingredients are EVERYWHERE! BTW, this is a gluten free bread. THEY ARE ADDICTIVE!!
1 cup yellow masarepa (precooked cornmeal)
1 cup tapioca (cassava, yuca) flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 cups grated queso fresco, (or farmer’s cheese, or any mild white cheese)
1 cup of milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons sugar
salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons depends on the salt content of the cheese you get)
enjoy!
