Plantain and Meat Casserole

Name: Plantain and Meat Casserole
Yield: makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 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; 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 (page 472); 2 eggs, lightly beaten, optional

December 14, 2011

A fairly complicated, lasagnelike dish and, like lasagne, perfectly homey. With advance preparation (you can make the sauce a day ahead and sauté the plantains several hours ahead), you can throw this together quickly, but even if you do it all at once you can make quick work of it. Great with a salad, this needs nothing else. Other meat you can use here: ground turkey, chicken, veal, or pork.

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