Puerto Rican Pinon Recipes

PUERTO RICAN PINON

Steps:

• Peel the plantains and cut each one lengthwise into 4 thick strips. In a 10 to 12 inch heavy skillet, heat vegetable oil. Add plantain strips, turning with a slotted spatula. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. As they brown, transfer the strips to paper towels to drain and cool. In the same skillet, heat the Add ground beef and separate with a fork to break up lumps. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic, stirring frequently. Cook for 5 minutes until vegetables are soft, but not brown. Stir in tomato sauce, recaito, salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally, cook briskly until most of the liquid in the pan evaporates. Off the heat, stir in olives, capers and taste for seasoning. Butter baking dish or spray with Pam. Beat the eggs with a fork and add 1/2 the mix into baking dish. Place 1/3 of the plantains in the bottom of the dish. Add the meat. Add the green beans. End with another layer of plantain strips. Pour the rest of the eggs over the plantains. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

PASTELON (PUERTO RICAN LAYERED CASSEROLE)

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef; cook and stir until browned on the outside and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove meat from pan; drain fat.
• Place tomato sauce, sofrito, green olives, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, recao, and oregano in the skillet. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Return ground beef to skillet; reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes more.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
• Pour oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry plantain slices until golden, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
• Beat eggs thoroughly in a bowl; add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Line the bottom of the baking pan with half the plantains, overlapping as needed. Layer ground beef mixture, green beans, and remaining plantains; pour eggs on top. Top with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until eggs are set and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes.

PINON

Steps:

• Cut onion and bell peppers into 1/4-inch dice. Drain whole tomatoes, reserving juice, and chop. Halve olives crosswise.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet until hot and crumble beef into skillet. Sauté beef over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up any clumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt, black pepper, onion, and bell peppers and sauté, stirring, until vegetables are softened, any juices are evaporated, and meat begins to brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with reserved juice, olives, and remaining filling ingredients and simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Cool filling uncovered. Filling may be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered.
• Cut ends from plantains and peel fruit. Diagonally cut plantains into 1/3-inch-thick slices. In a large nonstick skillet heat 1/3 cup oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté plantains in batches, without crowding, until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes on each side, adding remaining oil to skillet as necessary. With a slotted spatula transfer plantains as fried to paper towels to drain.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a 2 1/2-quart baking dish (about 1 1/2 inches deep).
• In a small bowl beat together eggs and water and pour half of mixture into baking dish, tilting to coat bottom and sides. Arrange about one third plantains over bottom and up sides of baking dish tightly in one layer. Spread half of filling in dish and sprinkle with half of Parmesan. Arrange half of remaining plantains on top of Parmesan in one layer. Top plantains with remaining filling and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Top pie with remaining plantains. Pour remaining egg mixture over pie, tilting dish so egg spreads to edges.
• Bake pie, covered with foil, in middle of oven until heated through and bubbling at edges, about 1 hour. Cool pie 10 minutes. (If desired, unmold before serving: Run a thin knife around edge of pie, invert a serving plate on top of pie, and invert pie onto serving plate.)

OUR FAVORITE PIñON

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350ºF.
• Cut plantains lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Heat 2 Tbsp. dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add half the plantains; cook 1-1/2 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Repeat with 2 Tbsp. of the remaining dressing and remaining plantains.
• Add peppers, onions, olives, garlic, 1/4 cup cilantro and remaining dressing to skillet; cook and stir on medium heat 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in meat, tomato sauce and seasoning. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally; simmer on medium-low heat 10 min. or until meat is done, stirring occasionally.
• Layer half each of the plantains, meat mixture, beans and cheese in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; repeat layers. Beat whole eggs, egg whites and milk with whisk until blended; pour over ingredients in baking dish. Cover.
• Bake 30 min. or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro.