Posted by RF at 11:54pm May 25 '10so, back when the baby was still just a wee thing, we were discussing what to feed her once she stopped nursing, and somehow i mentioned beef mixed with banana. my mom promptly responded 'ew, gross!'. in the end, though, i made it and its one of the baby's favorites. since she liked it so much, i figured i would try making some non-pureed fancier version for my wife and i. beef and banana got vetoed, but beef and plantain got the ok. below is the surprisingly good result that i made tonight, loosely based off a couple cuban/puerto rican recipes i found in a quick search before i started. i made it with orzo in it, but you could also make it as a filling for tortillas and either roll them or fry them like quesidillas or something like that.
3/4 lb ground beef
1 med-lg vidalia onion, chopped small
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
3 yellow plantains, ripe, but not overly ripe. slice in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/3-1/2 inch pieces, depending on how big of pieces you want left at the end.
dash tumeric
1/2 pinch coriander
1-2 pinches cumin
salt/pepper to taste
in 1-2 Tbsps corn oil, sautee beef until lightly browned.
remove beef and set aside, leaving the oil/fat in the pot.
sautee the onion in that until lightly browned
add spices, mix, then add the plantain
cook until the plaintain is cooked through and soft. you may need to add some water to keep it from sticking to the bottom, as it will start to break up.
add beef back in.
at this point its done, but you can also just add some orzo directly to it, which is what i did. add one lb orzo and 3.5-4 cups water. bring to boil the simmer until orzo is cooked, stirring very often.
3/4 lb ground beef
1 med-lg vidalia onion, chopped small
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
3 yellow plantains, ripe, but not overly ripe. slice in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/3-1/2 inch pieces, depending on how big of pieces you want left at the end.
dash tumeric
1/2 pinch coriander
1-2 pinches cumin
salt/pepper to taste
in 1-2 Tbsps corn oil, sautee beef until lightly browned.
remove beef and set aside, leaving the oil/fat in the pot.
sautee the onion in that until lightly browned
add spices, mix, then add the plantain
cook until the plaintain is cooked through and soft. you may need to add some water to keep it from sticking to the bottom, as it will start to break up.
add beef back in.
at this point its done, but you can also just add some orzo directly to it, which is what i did. add one lb orzo and 3.5-4 cups water. bring to boil the simmer until orzo is cooked, stirring very often.