Puerto Rican Beef Plantain Omelette

From: dmcmenam@mtholyoke.edu (Dianna McMenamin)
Date: 2 Nov 1993 14:44:29 GMT
Carl Harris (ceharris@csugrad.cs.vt.edu) wrote:

Plantains are good sliced and sauteed. They're also good substituted into
any recipe that uses cooked bananas. Many caribbean recipes that call for
banana originally called for plantain, but the recipe-writer thought you
wouldn't have access to plantain.

Here is a recipe from "The Total Banana" by Alex Abella (Harcourt,
Brace, Johanovich, 1979). The book has lots of other plantain recipes, too.

The recipe is a little heavy in the fat department, so I usually leave out
the meat, and skimp on the oil and butter. (I don't know how authentic the
veggie version is!) Also, the author wants us to boil the beans to death.
I have taken the liberty of changing that in the body of the recipe.


  ~   <-- (Take that as a tilde over the 'N')
PINON
-----
(Puerto Rican Beef Plantain Omelette)

3 very ripe plantains
  Oil for frying
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 pound ground beef  <--- I usually omit.
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon capers
1 Tablespoon sliced green olives (optional)
  Salt and pepper
1/2 pound green beans, fresh or frozen, cut in 3-inch pieces
6 eggs
1/4 cup butter         <--- I reduce this by about half

Peel the plantains, cut into 2-inch thick legthwise slices, and fry in oil
till golden brown. Remove, drain, and keep warm.

In a frying pan, saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic until soft but
not brown. Add the ground beef and fry at high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in
the tomato sauce and add the capers and olives, if desired. Cook 15
minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and
pepper to taste. 

Wash the string beans and steam till tender.

Beat the eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste. Butter the sides and
bottom of a round casserole and melt the remaining butter in the bottom.

Pour in *half* of the beaten eggs and cook over medium heat for about 1
minute or until slightly set. Cover the eggs with one-third of the
plantain slices, following with layers of half the ground meat and half
the string beans. Add another layer of plantains, the remainder of the
ground beef, another layer of beans, and top with plantains. Pour the rest
of the beaten eggs over the top.

Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, uncovered, being careful not to let the
omelette burn. Then place in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 to 15
minutes to brown the top of the pin~on. Serve with rice and beans.
Excellent for lunch.

Serves 4

amyl

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