Puerto Rican Beef Plantain Omelette (Pinon)

3 plantains; very ripe
1 oil; for frying
1 medium onion; chopped
1/2 medium green bell pepper; chopped
2 garlic
1/2 pound ground beef
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon green olives; sliced
1 salt and pepper; to taste
1/2 pound green beans; cut in 3 in pieces
6 eggs
1/4 cup butter

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. 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. Use fresh or frozen green beans. Peel the plantains, cut into 2-inch thick lengthwise 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 piņon. Serve with rice and beans. Excellent for lunch. Serves 4


Pastelon de Platano

(1)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pitted olives, pepper or onion-stuffed
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp cooking wine

(2)
1/2 lb lean ground meat
1/3 cup raisins

(3)
6 plantains, ripe but not overripe
2 tbsp olive oil

(4) 3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Pour the olive oil in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients included in (A). SautŽ for about five minutes. Stir the ground meat into the ingredients already in the saucepan. Cook for about ten minutes. Add the raisins. Continue to cook for another ten minutes or until the meat is cooked but not dry. You may want to remove the bay leaves at this time. Slice the plantains lengthwise. Use a separate saucepan to fry the plantain slices over medium heat in two tablespoonfuls of olive oil. Remove from the saucepan. Wipe excess oil with paper napkings. Use a deep square baking pan. Grease thoroughly with about half of the melted butter. Cover the bottom of the pan with a row of plantains. Add enough of the cooked meat to make a layer, following the style for preparing lasagna. Alternate rows of plantains and meat until both are used up. Pour the remaining melted butter over the pie. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes.


Yellow Plantain and Meat Pie (Pastelon de Amarillos)

FILLING: 1 pound ground beef
5 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 cup basic recaito Mix of herbs- Sofrito
1/2 cup manzanilla olives, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon black pepper

DOUGH: 2 cups corn oil
7 very ripe yellow plantains, peeled and cut into 3-inch slices
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded

TOPPING: 1/2 pound green beans, cooked
6 eggs, beaten

Brown the meat in a large frying pan. Add the remaining filling ingredients and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heat the oil and fry the plantain until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Spread 1/2 cup of the filling in the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan. Add a layer of half of the plantain slices and cover with the remaining filling. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining plantain slices. Sprinkle the green beans on top and pour the eggs over all. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the eggs are set.