Beef N Cornbread Wrapped In Banana Leaves Recipes

BEEF 'N CORNBREAD WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Heat dressing in medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook 3 min. or until evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste, raisins and olives; mix well. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 10 min. or until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, prepare corn muffin batter as directed on package; set aside. Cut six 10-inch squares from banana leaves; reserve trimmings for later use. Holding 1 of the banana leaves with tongs, quickly pass leaf over gas burner on medium heat several times until pliable. (Do not overheat leaf or it will become brittle.) Spread about 1/4 cup of the corn muffin batter into 3-inch square in center of smooth side of banana leaf; top with about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture. Fold over sides and ends of leaf to completely enclose filling. Repeat to make six packets. Tie each packet with a thin strip from the banana leaf trimmings. Place on rack in 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
• Bake 20 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min. Serve with the sour cream.

GRILLED BEEF WRAPPED IN SESAME LEAVES (BO LA LOT)

Steps:

• Bring a pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat. In a bowl large enough to soak sesame leaves, prepare an ice water bath.
• Once the water is boiling, boil leaves for 5 seconds, then remove and immediately submerge in ice water bath. Remove leaves, shake off excess water, pat each leaf dry, then drip dry on a bed of paper towels. Because you're going to use the leaves to wrap the beef, make sure to keep them as whole as possible.
• Heat wok/pan with a dash of cooking oil over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots for 3 minutes, or until they become translucent. Remove pan from heat, and immediately stir in garlic and lemongrass. Set aside and let cool to room temperature.
• In the meantime, combine beef, fish sauce, five-spice powder, palm sugar, and turmeric in bowl. Add cooled-down sautéed aromatics (shallots, garlic, lemongrass) and mix.
• One by one, lay out blanched sesame leaves, shiny-side up, with the top of the leaf pointing away from you. Drop a tablespoon of meat in the lower middle end of the leaf and form a small log widthwise across the stem, then fold in the sides and slowly roll up until closed. Lay flat on a tray and repeat until you're out of beef or sesame leaves, whichever comes first.
• Next, skewer as many "logs" with two skewers (or toothpicks), keeping about 1 inch between the parallel skewers. Brush wrapped logs o' beef with oil. Repeat until all wrapped beef is skewered and oil-brushed.
• If you have a grill, place directly on a rack over a medium-high flame. Cook for 3 minutes per side, or until the leaves are slightly charred.
• If you don't have a grill, sauté in a pan over medium-high heat with some cooking oil. Make sure the pan is hot before adding the skewers-and keep the skewers in place, or the leaves will unravel as they cook.
• Stack skewers on top of one another in a crisscross pattern. Garnish with sesame seeds and red bell peppers, and serve with a side of pickles to balance out the flavors.

BANANA CORNBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, milk, bananas, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl until batter is smooth; pour into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

YUCATAN PORK BAKED IN BANANA LEAVES: COCHINITA PIBIL

Steps:

• Run the banana leaves under warm water for about 5 minutes to defrost. Line a medium baking dish with the banana leaves.
• Combine the achiote paste, garlic, vinegar, orange juice, and salt in a blender until smooth. In a large bowl, rub the achiote mixture into the meat. Place the meat in the prepared baking dish. Wrap the meat with banana leaves. Cover container and refrigerate for 24 hours.
• After meat has marinated, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Add 1 cup water to the baking dish. Bake the meat until fork tender, about 2 hours.
• Serve wrapped meat on a bed of steamed white rice with Marinated Red Onions and Habanero Salsa on the side. Alternatively, remove meat from banana leaves and wrap in fresh, warm tortillas with Marinated Red Onions and Habanero Salsa on top.
• In a dry skillet, lightly toast the habanero chiles. Stem, seed, and roughly chop the peppers. Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a small serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

BANANA LEAF-WRAPPED CHILEAN SEABASS WITH PICKLED RED ONIONS

Steps:

• For the pickled red onions: In a medium saucepan over high heat, add the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns and 2 tablespoons salt. Mix well and add the beets and onions. Once it comes to a boil, stir to dissolve the sugar and salt then remove from the heat. Allow to cool then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• For the grouper: In a small bowl, add the orange zest, juice, olive oil, ground achiote and cumin. Mix well to combine, then pour the marinade into a large resealable plastic bag. Add the grouper filets and seal the bag tightly, squeezing out any excess air from the bag. Gently mix around so the marinade coats the fish well. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.
• Clean the grill grates and preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
• Arrange 2 banana leaves to form a cross. Remove one piece of grouper from the marinade and place in the center of the leaves. Season with 4 to 5 turns freshly ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Wrap the fish up tightly in the banana leaves by folding over one flap at a time, alternating each side so they overlap. Secure the last folds of the leaves together with toothpicks to hold in place. Place the banana leaf-wrapped grouper on the grill, and cook until the leaves turn bright green and begin to char around the edges, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Remove from the grill and set aside.
• To serve, cut open the banana leaves to expose the fish, add a large spoonful of Spicy Grilled Corn Salsa and garnish with the pickled red onions, chopped scallions and cilantro.
• Preheat a grill to medium-high heat.
• Place the corn on the grill and cook until well charred all over, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Drizzle the poblanos and fresnos with olive oil and season with 5 to 6 turns freshly ground black pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Place the chilies on the grill and cook until lightly charred on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Place the chiles into a bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to steam for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Hold a corn cob upright in a large mixing bowl. Using a chef's knife, cut off the kernels and let them fall into the bowl. Repeat with the remaining corn. Set aside the kernels. Discard the cobs.
• Remove the skins from the chiles. Mince the fresnos, dice the poblanos and add them to the bowl with the corn kernels. Add the red onions, scallions, lime zest, juice, garlic, agave and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

ASIAN STYLE SNAPPER/BREAM IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• Using tongs dip each banana leaf one by one into boiling water, remove immediately, rinse under cold water, dry thoroughly, leaves should be soft and pliable.
• Cut each fish 3 times, place each fish on a leaf, top each fish with lemon grass and garlic.
• Combine garlic, juice, sauces and oil, drizzle a little sauce over each fish reserving about 3-4 tablespoons for the vegeatbles.
• Fold leaves over fish and secure with kitchen string. Place parcels in a pre-heated oven of 180 degress celsius and cook for 25-30 min's or until cooked through.
• Alternativley which I love banana leaves for, cook on the BBQ, covered, using indirect heat for about 20-25 Min's. (I find it takes me 30 Min's in my oven and about 20 Min's on the BBQ, but I do have an extremely hot BBQ, I do not know how 4 smaller fish fillets affects the time as I have only cooked 2 larger fish.).
• The banana leaves will get quite crispy and may even burn in places, they will stay quite moist underneath as the juices run from fish and sauce. For presentation purposes I keep 2 banana leaves to use as the base to serve fish on after.
• Vegetables.
• Heat olive oil in a wok or large pan, add garlic and ginger and stir fry until fragrant.
• Add pepper, carrot and sesame oil, stir fry 2-3 Minutes, add both cabbages, peas, sprouts and reserved sauce. Stir fry until vegetables are just tender serve immediately with fish.
• Extra sauce.
• Just an optional extra if you prefer to have a little more sauce to drizzle over fish once served.
• Combine the 3 ingredients in a small microwave safe bowl and microwave 30-45 seconds to just warm through.
• To Serve: I place a banana leaf on a serving platter top with whole fish, I pour remaining juice and sauce from the bananan leaf fish was cooked in over fish, and arrange the vegetables around the fish, garnish with sliced onions.

BEEF WITH GUAJILLO SAUCE BAKED IN BANANA LEAVES - MIXIOTE DE CAR

Steps:

• Fill a 2-quart saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, slit chiles lengthwise, then stem, seed, and devein.
• Add chiles to boiling water and remove from heat. Let stand, uncovered, until chiles are softened and have turned a brighter red, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, toast annatto and cumin seeds in a dry small heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker. Transfer to a bowl to cool, then grind seeds to a powder in a grinder or mini food processor.
• Transfer chiles to a blender, then add 1 1/2 cups soaking liquid, ground seeds, garlic, vinegar, and 1 tablespoon salt. Blend until smooth, at least 2 minutes. Pour sauce into a large (3 to 4 -quart)shallow container and cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle meat with 2 teaspoons salt, then add to sauce and turn meat to coat using tongs or your hands (wear protective gloves to prevent staining). Marinate meat, covered and chilled, at least 8 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Holding both ends of a banana leaf, drag leaf slowly over a burner on medium-high heat until it changes color slightly and becomes shinier. Repeat on other side of leaf, then toast remaining banana leaves.
• Cut off tough edges from banana leaves with kitchen shears, then cut 8 (11-inch square) pieces from leaves, discarding remainder. Put each leaf on a 12-inch-square piece of foil, then arrange 2 pieces of meat and some sauce in center of each leaf, using all of sauce, and top each mound with a bay leaf (or if using California leaves, with half a bay leaf). Fold in all 4 sides of each banana leaf to enclose meat, then wrap tightly in foil. Arrange packages, seam sides up, in 1 layer in a large roasting pan and add just enough water to measure 1/8 inch in bottom of pan (about 2 cups).
• Bake adding more water as necessary to prevent pan from becoming dry, until meat is tender and falling off the bone (open 1 package to test), about 3 1/2 hours for beef or 2 1/2 hours for lamb.
• Discard foil and bay leaves and serve meat in banana leaves if desired (do not eat banana leaves).

CORNBREAD BEEF BAKE

Steps:

• In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, ketchup, brown sugar and pepper; mix well. Transfer to a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. , In a bowl, combine dry cornbread mix, milk and egg just until combined. Spoon over bean mixture. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cornbread comes out clean.

TAMALES WRAPPED IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cover pork with water and add 1 garlic clove, 1 onion quarter and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the pork is tender, 45-60 minutes. Shred the meat, reserving the stock.
• Heat a comal or iron skillet over medium heat. Place the chiles in the hot skillet, using a spatula to press them against it slightly. Turn them so that both sides begin to change color. This will take 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Place the chiles in a bowl, cover with warm water and soak for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the tomatoes on a comal or griddle and grill until the skin is charred. Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a baking pan lined with foil and broil until skin is blackened, turning once. Peel and purée in a blender.
• Roast the other onion quarter, 2 cloves garlic, marjoram, peppercorns and cloves. Drain the chiles and transfer to a blender. Add the roasted onion, garlic, marjoram, peppercorns, cloves and 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) of reserved stock, then purée until smooth.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of the lard in a skillet and sauté the chile purée in it for 5 minutes. Add the puréed tomatoes and sauté for another 5 minutes; add the pork, stir and cover. Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
• Hold the banana leaf directly over the heat for 5 seconds. Cut into 5-in (13 cm) squares.
• Knead the masa with 2 tablespoons (1 oz/30 g) of the lard for 5 minutes.
• Use the remaining lard to grease one side of the banana leaf. Place 3-in (7.5-cm) square of masa on the lard and top with 1 1/2 tablespoons of pork mixture.
• Fold the opposite edges of the leaf toward the center, then do the same with the same outer edges to form a closed rectangle. To secure tie the tamales with narrow strips of leaf.
• Place 2 cups (16 oz fl oz/500 ml) water in a pressure cooker, then cover the steamer basket with a layer of flattened banana leaves. Add the tamales to the steamer basket and cover with another layer of leaves. Place the lid on the pan and cook 20 minutes. If you use an ordinary steamer, follow the same procedure but use 4 cups (32 fl oz/1 L) water and cook for 1 hour.
• Serve warm, with frijoles refritos (refried beans).

BEEF WRAPPED IN LETTUCE LEAVES, KOREAN STYLE

Steps:

• Use a sharp knife to strip meat from ribs; it will come off easily and in one piece (reserve bones and any meat that adheres to them for stock). If time allows, freeze meat for 30 minutes to make slicing easier.
• Combine scallions, ginger, garlic, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and 1/2 cup water in blender, and puree until very smooth. Slice meat 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Toss with scallion mixture, and marinate for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Preheat a grill or broiler, or preheat oven to its maximum temperature, and put a heavy roasting pan in it.
• Remove meat from marinade, and grill, broil or roast just until done, no more than a couple of minutes a side; it's nice if the meat is browned outside and rare inside, but it's imperative that it not be overcooked.
• To eat, wrap a piece or two of meat in a torn piece of lettuce; garnish with a drop or two of soy sauce or bean paste if you like.

ZESTY GROUND BEEF & CORNBREAD IN BANANA LEAVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400ºF.
• Heat dressing in medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add meat; cook 3 min. or until evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste, raisins and olives; mix well. Simmer on medium heat 10 min. or until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
• Meanwhile, prepare corn muffin batter as directed on package; set aside. Cut 6 (10-inch) squares from banana leaves; reserve trimmings for later use. Holding 1 of the banana leaves with tongs, quickly pass leaf over gas burner on medium heat several times until pliable. (Do not overheat leaf or it will become brittle.) Spread about 1/4 cup corn muffin batter into 3-inch square in center of smooth side of banana leaf; top with about 1/3 cup meat mixture. Fold over sides and ends of leaf to completely enclose filling. Repeat to make 6 packets. Tie each packet with a thin strip from banana leaf trimmings. Place on rack in 15x10x1-inch pan.
• Bake 20 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool 5 min. Serve with sour cream.