Plantain and Meat Casserole (WBR)

Platanos Maduros (sauteed ripe plantains)

• 3 or 4 very ripe plantains, peeled
• Corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil for frying

The mise en place for this dish.  Took ages for the plantains to get to this stage.  The first time around, they started to rot and attract fruit flies and I had to start over.

Shallow-frying the peeled and sliced plantains.

Finished product.

Plantain and Meat Casserole 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed
• 1 pound ground beef
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 red or green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped [Spaced on this]
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine)
• 1 recipe Platanos Maduros
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten, optional

Mise en place.

Browning the ground beef.

Cook onion and pepper (if I had any) until quite soft.

Add the garlic, spices, and tomatoes and cook until saucy.

Layer everything together, pour egg over (though I didn't notice it much the finished dish), and baked until heated through.

A tasty enough dish even though it didn't bowl me over.  Nice to see that sauteed plantains are really straightforward as long as you've got the ripe plantains.

My roommate Vanessa walked in at an early point in the dish and remembered hearing a Dominican friend of hers who often cooked a plantain and meat lasagna.  Bonafide culture, I guess.