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Piononos
Deep Fried Plantain Rings with Spicy Beef Filling
Plantains have been a staple of Southeast and Indian diets for ages. But, I tend to think of plantains as a Caribbean food and I was surprised to learn that Portuguese Franciscan monks were responsible for the introduction of plantains to the Caribbean islands. Previous to the colonial period plantains did not exist in the Caribbean.
Tricks
For this recipe ripe plantains is what you will need. When plantains are ripe they won't have the pretty yellow skin of their banana cousins. Rather, a ripe plantain will look spotted and/or black. Don't worry about the appearance, delicious plantain flesh awaits your underneath. Green plantains will ripen at home, but they should not be put in the refridgerator. Just leave them out on a shaded windowsill or countertop.
Procedure
Peel the plantains and cut each one lengthwise into 4 pretty thin strips. You have to bend these into a circle later so they need to be pretty flexible. The trick here is frying them to soften up the plantain flesh. In a big frying pan melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Put in the plantain strips so that they do not overlap and let them fry for about 4-5 minutes per side or until they are a nice golden color. When they look done take them out and drain off the excess grease on a couple of paper towels.
The next thing to do is to make the filling. Drain and wipe the skillet if you are re-using the one you fried the plantains in. Brown the ground buffalo and remove it from the skillet temporarily. Then toss in the annatto oil, onions, peppers, garlic and chilies fry them for about 5 minutes or until the onions start to clear and the bell pepper gets soft. Put the buffalo back in the skillet with the ham. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, and flour, cook this down until the broth evaporates and the flour is cooked. The end product needs to be sticky enough to stuff the plantain rings. You don't want a loose ground meat mixture like a taco filling, it needs to stick together. Once it's done remove the meat mixture to a bowl and add the capers, chopped olive, and vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now is a good time to start heating the frying oil (350°). You'll need enough oil to completely submerge the plantain rings. If you only have a small amount of vegetable oil use a small pot and fry the rings one or two at a time.
Now form the plantains into rings by bending them into a circle. Use toothpicks to secure the ends together. Put the plantain rings next to each other on a plate and they will help to hold each other together. Next spoon in the meat filling and pack it in as tight as you think it'll hold.
In the next step you're going to batter the plantain rings and deep fry them. Start by mixing together the water, milk, vinegar, baking powder, and salt in a wide mouth bowl. Using a big slotted spoon or wire basket dunk the plantain rings one or two at a time in the batter and cover them completely. Drop them in to the hot frying oil immediately. Cook them until they are golden brown. You may need to flip them so they cook evenly top and bottom. Once they have cooked take them out and drain any excess grease on a couple of paper towels.
Note:
The meat filling may come loose when it's dropped in to the frying oil. Some of this can't be avoided. It's best to transfer the plantain rings to the hot oil using a slotted spoon or wire basket. Gently submerge the plantains until the batter firms up.
If you are not down with deep frying your plantain rings you can also bake them. Place the rings inside of a baking pan and sprinkle a liberal amount of breadcrumbs on top. Pat the crumbs down. Put the plantains rings in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Take them out when the tops are toasted.
Ingredients
Conversions to European measurements can be found here!
For four people
- 2 large ripe plantains (approximately 1 pound each)
- 1 dozen toothpicks
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons annatto oil
- 1 pound lean ground buffalo
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/4 cup finely chopped bell peppers
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh hot chilies
- 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chopped ham
- 3 medium sized firm ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3-4 large pimiento stuffed olives finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons malt vinegar
Optional Deep Frying Batter
- 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 pint vegetable oil for frying
Optional Baked
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs