January 24th, 2013
In Latin countries they use plantains all the time. Green or ripe? The recipes are different. It is comfort food.
I bought a few green plantains a couple of days ago and I decided to just try to make a sandwich. The ingredients I wanted to incorporate were like the ones used in a Cuban sandwich.
I don’t have the recipe written yet. I am still debating what else to add to it.
These are the pictures. It was made with fried green plantains, smashed and then refried. A little mayo, thin pork, fried onions, mushrooms and jalapenos, sweet pickles, and thinly sliced cheese.
I keep thinking that a slice of ham might add an extra flavor.
As soon as I have it in a recipe form….I will be back.
July 20th, 2012
The Spanish word “picar” means to “mince” or “chop”…..A picadillo is just that; everything is either minced or chopped. It is made with spices, tomato sauce, raisins, olives, garlic, and pretty much, beef is what it is used.
The plantains are so versatile. They are from the banana family; they are a starch, but they do have less sugar than the banana. When they are green they are used to make “tostones” and “mofongo”. But as they ripen, they can be stuffed and even made into a dessert.
Considered a comfort food for so many that have plantains available year-round.
So, there I was looking at two ripe but firm plantains with spots on them. They were not totally ripe, which is exactly how you want them when making Stuffed Canoes. Green plantains are my favorite but I was not going to let these ones go to waste.
The first thing you need to do is peel them. They are much easier than the green ones. A few slits here or there and the skin comes off.
Deep fry them until a golden color. Drain on paper towels and then put aside until ready to stuff.
As I was looking for items to make the picadillo I had to do with what I had on hand. So, basically, the picadillo was made with pork sausage. Actually, it turned out pretty good.
My recipe for Picadillo is called “What kind of Picadillo is that?
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 lb. pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean, which is gluten free.)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup sliced manzanilla olives with pimiento
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes in oil
4 ounces of tomato sauce
A few dashes of Tabasco (optional)
Pepper to taste
A couple of ounces of Velveeta Cheese chopped
Grated Parmesan (about 1/4 cup)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a frying pan, add the Olive Oil, heat and add the pork sausage. Cook for a few minutes and then add the onion. Continuing cooking until sausage is totally crumbled and the onion is soft.
Add manzanilla olives, sun dried tomatoes, and stir.
Add tomato sauce, pepper and Tabasco. Stir and remove from heat.
Add the Velveeta Cheese. Mix it in. (If you want to add another kind of cheese, you know what to do.)
Make a slit in each plantain from top to bottom but careful not to go completely through. You will find that the plantain is very pliable. It will give as you stuff it. Put enough picadillo, just like in the picture.
Then, sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until completely heated through.
To serve you can do several things. You can give one to each person, which looks nicer, or just a half. You can serve it with a green salad. The colors would be really nice.
Make them your own. Remember I just kept adding ingredients that I usually like when cooking. I did not have raisins but I would add a couple of tablespoons, as well.
Enjoy them. It is a good combination. The sweetness of the plantains with all those other ingredients make them “deliciosos”.
Have a good one!!
March 6th, 2012
I have to laugh because when I think of comfort food, I have to add tostones (plantains) to that list. In Puerto Rico, having tostones is part of everyday eating. I have written about them in the past. If you click on the month of June of 2010 on this website, and scroll down to the 28th, you will see them there, as well.
When I go to my supermarket, Giant, in Rehoboth Beach, you can find plantains right along the bananas. They are part of that family, except with more starch and less sugar.
Going through the cash register I sometines get asked; what do you do with them? The explanation follows like; peel, slice, fry, mash and fry again. Eyebrows go up and that’s pretty much it…intimidation, definitely.
I don’t have a tostonera. That’s the easier way of smashing the plantain after you fry them. I do have a pilon, though. This is the mortar and pestle. It is pretty much indispensable in Latin cooking.
The plantains for tostones need to be green. The easiest way to peel them is to cut both ends, put in the microwave for 1 minute, regardless of the size. Take out carefully. With a knife make long slits on the skin of the plantain and then peel.
Cut the plantains in about 1 inch slices. Some people soak them in salted water; don’t bother with that.
Put them in the very hot oil in a deep frying pan and fry until they have a nice golden color.
Take out and place on paper towels to drain.
The next step takes you to the smashing part. I told you I don’t have a tostonera, so I use a long piece of wax paper, folded in half. Place a piece of plantain in between the two pieces of wax paper and with a plate smash it. With a spatula pick it up and put it back on the paper towel until you finish with all the fried pieces. It does not take long, believe me.
After that just let them stay on the paper towel until you finish with your “Mojito”. You thought it was the drink, right? No, no; it is a sauce for the tostones.
In the mortar, mash a garlic clove. Add salt and pepper to taste. About 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mix it all in. Then add about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, the juice of one lime and a few dashes of Tabasco. All this can be done to taste…a little bit of this or a little bit of that.
Now is time to fry the smashed plantains or tostones again. In the very hot oil place them in and cook until they come to the surface, turn them over and continue cooking until they are very golden; watch them so they don’t burn.
Put them back to drain, arrange on a platter, pass the Mojito.
Note: Butter and garlic powder or salt on top are another way they are eaten in my household.
I love them thin and crispy but soft in the inside…..talk to you later…Buen Provecho!!
April 6th, 2011
The day I made this recipe was a chilly evening. Easy and ready in about 45 minutes to an hour.
A Chicken Divan was made originally with a very rich Mornay Sauce. Some people use canned cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, and cheese. Calories? You bet!!
This dish was first featured at the Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City. Guess what? I have my own version, which is a combination of recipes and the chicken is chopped.
Chopped Chicken Divan Casserole
1 package of broccoli florets, steamed in the microwave
4 boneless chicken breasts, chopped in bite size pieces
White Sauce or Mornay Sauce
A White Sauce is also a Bechamel Sauce. It becomes a Mornay Sauce because of the addition of cheese.
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup of half and half
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 lb. Gruyere cheese (1/4 lb. Gruyere Cheese and 1/4 lb. Parmesan, if you want to), grated
1/4 cup Sherry
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour and half and half until thickened. Add the remaining ingredients until everything thickens.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Placed the already microwaved broccoli florets in a buttered baking dish.
Top with chicken. Then top with the already made Mornay Sauce. Sprinkle with pepper and even some Paprika, if you would like to give it more color.
Place in the already pre-heated oven for about 45 minutes but it could take one hour. You want it just browned.
This casserole can be served with rice but I chose to serve it with plantains. In Puerto Rico they are called Aranitas or Spiders. I don’t know what I would call mine.
2 green plantains
oil for frying
The easiest way to peel green plantains is to cut the ends off and place them one by one in the microwave for 1 minute. Give it a cut lenthwise just enough to be able to peel the skin off.
Heat oil for frying.
Grate the plantains and form a nest in your hand. Fry until they are a rich golden color. Turn over and fry for a couple of more minutes. Take out and put on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Mine came out more like flattened ball so you decide if you want that or a nest. Once you get the hang of it, you will see why plantains are a comfort food in many countries. Just like potatoes.
P.S. I used a gluten free flour in my recipe, so this one is gluten free.
Make it your own….and enjoy…
September 23rd, 2010
I am still trying to master cooking with plantains; a versatile vegetable used in a lot of the Latin cuisine.
So, I had some ripe plantains in my house and decided to make a Pinon. This a Puertorican traditional dish. It is basically a lasagna using plantains instead of noodles.
Still peeling and then slicing them lenthwise is tricky. I would like to be able to slice them thin but it is hard. Then, you have to fry them until they reach a golden color.
The word Picadillo means chopped; the ground beef, onions, olives, and everything you want to add to the meat.
I had to sit down and write the recipe because it was one of those that you add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Oh, let’s try that spice or let me add more raisins, you know, making it your own. So, here it goes.
Pinon de Carne
5 ripe plantains (yellow skin)
oil for frying
2 tbps. olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped or a red one
1 garlic clove or a tsp. of garlic powder
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup sliced olives with minced pimientos
8 ounces tomato sauce
pepper to taste
salt, optional
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 small boxes of raisins
1 can french style green beans
4 eggs
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel plantains and cut lengthwise. Fry them in the oil until golden. Take out and place on paper towels to drain.
 Frying plantains  Ready to take them out In a separate frying pan put the olive oil and add onion, pepper, garlic, oregano, cilantro, cinnamon, cumin and any other spices that you might like to add.
Sautee for about 5 minutes.
Then add ground beef and break it down as it cooks. Add olives, tomato sauce, 1/2 of the canned beans and raisins.
Cook for another 5 minutes or longer until it becomes a “picadillo”.
 Picadillo Taste and season to your liking.
Grease a 12 x 71/2 x 2 baking dish. Beat 2 of the eggs and place on the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange 1/2 of the plantains on top of the egg mixture. Then put 1/2 of the picadillo and spread, pat it down, and then the rest of the canned beans on top.
Once that is done then arrange the rest of the plantains, beat the eggs and put that mixture on top of the plantains. The idea is that when it bakes the eggs will hold everything together and you will be able to slice it without crumbling.
 Ready for the oven Place it in the oven for about 30 minutes or so.
 Ready Serve with a green salad and you have dinner.
 Serving piece Remember cooking comes from your heart….Talk to you later….
Note: To make a Gluten Free recipe always read the labels.
June 28th, 2010
I was in the mood for some comfort food. I think if you ask anyone from Puerto Rico they will probably tell you that they consider “tostones” their comfort food.
Off to Giant, our local supermaket, I went and they did have plantains. I needed them green for the “tostones”. I don’t think there is a translation for “tostones”.
Plantains are from the same family as the bananas. They are a starch and they do have less sugar than the bananas.
The easiest way to peel the plantains is by cutting the tips on each end. Then, place the plantains in the microwave for 1 minute. Make a slice with a knife, lengthwise, just on the skin and peel it back. Cut the plantains in one inch chunks and place them in a bowl of water with a teaspoon of salt. I like my “tostones” thin so that’s why I gave you that measurement.
Drain the plantains and in a deep fryer or deep frying pan put enough Canola oil to submerge the plantain chunks. Fry them until they are golden.
Place them to drain on paper towels. Yes, it is too bad that they need to be fried but I am telling you, that’s why they are so good.
The next step is to flaten them. All you need is waxed paper and a plate. Put one chunk at a time in between the wax paper and flaten it with a plate. Continue to do so until all pieces are flatened. Believe it or not, it really does not take long.
Back again into the frying pan. Fry them until they reach a very deep golden color. They will rise to the surface of the oil. Drain again on paper towels.
Some people just eat them as a side dish and others like them as a snack. Some put just butter on top and a bit of garlic powder and some, like me, make a Mojo.
Yes, the Mojo really came before the alcoholic Mojito. It is one of those sauces made in a Pilon (Mortar and Pestle), if you have one. If not, then improvise. Garlic and salt are the first condiments of my Mojo. Then mash with the pestle. Add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, mixing everything in. Then add a small can of tomato sauce, the juice of a half a lime, cilantro to taste, pepper, and a dash of Tabasco or more. The measurements are not exact, as you can tell by the way I am writing. Some times I think it needs a little more lime, or maybe more cilantro so you will probably have to make this recipe your own.
The Mojo is a sauce used for a lot of dishes. I was making some shrimp with onion, peppers, olive oil, a little bit of butter. I just sauteed all the vegies and at the last minute the medium shrimp went in and cooked until nice and pink. I added some of that Mojo to give it a nice sauce.
I had gone to Tomato Sunshine and got really pretty tomatoes. Once summer starts giving us good tomatoes then I love to make mayonnaise. You wonder why? Well, it is homemade and delicious.
Homemade Mayonnaise
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups salad oil
Aple Cider Vinegar
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Dash of Tabasco
In a small bowl put mustard, salt and egg yolks. Mix together with a mixer on low speed. Then add oil, 1 tsp. at a time a t first, mixing well after each addition. For the first 1/4 cup be sure to add only a little at a time.
As the mixture thickens, thin with 1 tsp. vinegar. Keep mixing with the mixer.
After 1/4 cup of oil, you may add the oil a little faster. The first additions of oil make the emulsion. If by any chance it separates during this time, take another egg yolk in another bowl and start over. After you get this well started, you can add the old separated mixture to it. I don’t think you will have any problems.
When mayonnaise is finished, add a dash of Worcestershire and a dash of Tabasco to taste.
Enjoy and make it your own.
Talk to you later…..as usual….
May 21st, 2010
After 13 years not being in the Isla del Encanto, I find myself going there again after 6 weeks. Is it the calling of the Island, or the reunion of the “Igualitos”? You are wondering what in the world are the “Igualitos”. Well, these are the friends I grew up with in Humacao, on the eastern side of the Island. They are truly the core of my friendships so long ago. I have not seen a lot of them in probably 35+ years.
The word “Igualito” means the same. I doubt it very much if we are the same; so many of us have gone through a lifetime of experiences. And, regarding appearances, well I am sure we have changed a lot, as well. It will be interesting.
What I have been finding out since I reunited last year with some of these friends, is how easily we have picked up again. It is like we saw each other just yesterday. Someone said, some time ago, well if I have not seen them in all those years, why bother? I don’t agree. The connection is always there. I don’t know if it is nostalgic or not, but I am really looking forward to it.
One of my favorite fruits in Puerto Rico is the local mango. I like the round ones; no fibers, just very meaty. Mangoes are one of the most extensively exploited fruits for food, juice, flavor, fragrance and color.
There is a very good recipe called Coconut French Toast with Mango. The recipe comes from a cookbook called Isabel’s Cantina and here it goes:
1 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened dried coconut
6 thick slices of crusty bread
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Maple Syrup
1 mango, peeled and sliced
1/2 pint raspberries
In a shallow bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, sugar and eggs.
Spread out the coconut on a plate. Dip the pieces of bread in the egg mixture and then dip in the coconut, amply coating the bread.
Melt the butter on a griddle or in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the slices of bread on the griddle and cook until the coconut is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is golden and the middle isn’t soft or soggy, about 4 minutes.
Serve hot, topped with Maple Syrup, mango slices and raspberries.
Serves 4 to 6 people.
Another Island favorite is the Plantain. They are used as a staple food. Plantains are very tropical and are firmer and lower in sugar content than dessert bananas.
They require cooking. Usually they are used either when green and therefore more starchy or overripe and sweet.
The following is another simple recipe from the same book above mentioned. This can be served as a side dish with any kind of meat.
Sweet Plantains
3 large ripe plantains
About 1 1/2 cups canola or peanut oil, for frying
Kosher Salt
This recipe calls for the ripest plantains on the market; yellow with black spots. They do not need to be soaked before cooking.
To peel the plantain, just cut off the ends of each one and then use a paring knife to peel the skin off in strips from top to bottom. Cut each plantain on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices.
Por enough oil into a large deep-sided saute pan to come 1/2 inch up the sides, and heat over medium-high heat until small bubbles begin to form on the bottom of the pan.
Place half of the plantain slices in the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute before turning the slices over with tongs or a slotted sppon. Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes more, or until golden brown.
Transfer to a paper-towel-lined tray to drain.
Sprinkle with salt.
Repeat with the remaining plantain slices. Serve hot.
This recipe serves about 6 to 8 people.
Remember to be creative and make it your own.
Talk to you later…..
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