Recipe(tried): Pi n de Amarillos (Picadillo, Ripe Plaintains and Vegetable Casserole) Recipe for dear Gina!

Pi n was one of those recipes favored by my beloved mother & that she always did not approved of my modern & easier method of assemblyng & cooking it. She did the Pi on completely over the stove, covering it with a dinner dish bigger than the skillet where she was cooking, & she turned it over the plate like sometimes we do with the omelettes.

Since the beggining, I decided that it was necessary to research for a simpler method. It is my fortune that I had found several books that greatly simplify the process, achieving better results. Here is my favorite recipe.

Buen Provecho querida amiga!

PI ON DE AMARILLOS (Picadillo, Ripe Plaintains & Vegetable Casserole)
Source: "Cocinando en Grande", Asociaci n C vico Cultural de Damas de Mayaguez, New Printing Corporation, 1991, Pp. 116, 117.
(My translation)

1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin
6 ripe plantains
1 lb green beans, cooked.
4 ounces cheddar cheese shredded
6 eggs, separated
2 tb olive oil
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves finely chopped or crushed in a mortar
1/4 cup cilantrillo, cleaned & chopped
1 envelope Saz n con Cilantro Goya (for taste & color)
1/2 cup Golden Sultanas (raisins)
2 tb tomato sauce
2 tb brown or white sugar
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Saut the garlic in the oil. Add pimento, onion, Cilantrillo, raisins, tomato sauce & the Saz n Goya. Add the ground beef & season to teste. Cok, covered at Medium heat for approximately 30 minutes (This is the Picadillo). Peel & slice the plantains in long slices the size of the plantain, and fry them in sufficient oil (Medium High heat). Grease a glass baking dish 8x 12 x 2, with some good olive oil. Cover the bottom with some of the already fried ripe (very Sweet) plantains. Cover the plantains with the already cooked meat, Press it well so that it becomes compact 7 uniform. Add the already boiled and drained green beans (habichuelitas tiernas). Add the shredded Cheddar Cheese (I use sheredded Mozzarella). Add the remaining plantain slices, covering the Picadillo & the cheese. Whip the egg whites until they are Meringue Like, add the 2 tb of sugar (use the yolks for other purpose). Cover the Pi n with this "Meringue". Bake it at 325 for 15 minutes (meringue must be solid). Change the oven temperature to BROIL, and broil it for 5 minutes until it is golden. Let it stand for 5 minutes and you can cut & serve the Pi n. Delicious & decorative. I serve the Pi n with perfect white rice and Stewed Red Beans Puerto Rico Style.

There is another recipe, similar, but when you beat the eggs you use the whites and the yolks. You add salt & pepper to the eggs and add them over the Pi n, tring that the egg mixture gets to the bottom. You cook that other Pi n in a preheated 350 oven, covered, for 30 minutes. It will be Lasagna like, and delicious too. Sometimes I add Chopped Guava Paste to the Pi n & it gives it a delicious tropical flavor. If you dont like green beans you can instead add corn, from a big can, well drained.

I hope it will be to your liking.