Mexican Green Enchiladas

Enchiladas Suizas

As Santiago Pirez Velasco, from Cuernavaca, Mexico, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine.

Notes: There are dozens of kinds of enchiladas with different sauces and fillings. Red enchiladas are made with ground red chili peppers and/or tomato. This green variety is is made instead with poblano and serrano chilis and tomatillos. Santiago said that he thought that “Suizas” in the name of this dish refers to immigrants from Switzerland who liked to add milk and cheese products to Mexican enchiladas.
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. raw chicken (bone in for best flavor)

• 1/4 onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• 4 cups chicken broth (divided in to 3 cups and 1 cup)

• 1 poblano chili

• 8 tomatillos, papery skins removed

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup cream cheese

• 1-2 serrano chilis

• 3 Tbsp Canola, peanut, or corn oil (for frying)

• 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

• 12-18 corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Boil chicken in 3 cups chicken stock and water if needed to cover chicken until cooked and tender. Drain and let cool. Remove skin and bones and pull chicken meet into strips.

2. Preheat oven to 425.

3. Blister poblano skin on all sides in broiler or over gas flame. Once black all over, cover in a bowl with plastic wrap so the pepper steams, helping the skin come off. Peel off the charred skin, cut the pepper in half, and remove seeds. Discard the skin and seeds.

4. Blend the poblano, tomatillos, sour cream, cream cheese, and serrano chilis in blender until smooth.

5. Cook the chili and cream mixture in a sauce pan for about 15 minutes on medium heat until sauce thickens slightly and begins sticking to sides. Turn off heat, cover and let sit.

6. Heat oil in a 12 inch skillet on medium heat. When shimmering, add tortillas one at a time to soften. Let tortillas cool slightly then roll chicken inside of each and line the rolls up, seam side down, in a baking dish. Bake the stuffed tortillas until the tortillas are crispy.

7. Pour sauce over the enchiladas, top with grated cheese, and broil until melted and slightly toasted.
   
   

Mexican Chilaquiles

Food styling and photo: @dianemorrisey

Chilaquiles

As Azmindo Cancino taught Lindsay Sterling in Yarmouth, ME.

Note: Spice level is mild to medium depending on chiles. You can use many different proteins for toppings - egg, pulled pork, seared chicken, steak, whatever you want.
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

5 large or 10 small green tomatoes or tomatillos
5 serrano chilis, or ancho if you like spicy
1 Tbsp oil
2 large chicken breasts, or 1 lb. braised beef, pulled pork, or 4-8 eggs
1/4 cup + 2 cups water
1 large chicken bouillon cube or 1 tsp Better than Bouillon
1/2 of a large bag of tortilla chips
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream

Optional toppings:

1-2 avocadoes
6 radishes
1/4 red onion
6 oz queso panela (omit for lactose-free)
1 stem fresh epazote or
16 fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Blend chilis, tomatoes, and 1/4 cup water in a blender until smooth.

2. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large soup pot. Once the pan is hot, add blended chili-tomato mixture, bouillion, salt, 2 cups water, and epazote stem if you have it.

3. Simmer for ten minutes or so until the color of the liquid changes from spring green to muted green and loses its raw flavor.

4. Slice chicken breast horizontally into 1/4” planks while this is cooking. Wash all surfaces that touched the raw chicken with soapy water.

5. Get a large saute pan really hot and lay out thin chicken planks without touching each other in the pan. Sprinkle each with salt. Flip when the underside is golden brown.

6. When chilaquiles sauce is muted green, pour a mountain of tortilla chips (towering just over the liquid) into the pot and let sit -- no stirring! Let this sit for three minutes.

7. Serve a large spoonful of the tortilla-soaked tomatoes on each plate with a plank of golden chicken and a dollop of sour cream. Restaurants serve crumbled queso panela on top, but she says at home people don't use cheese. Garnish with colorful fresh toppings such as slices of avocado, radish, red onion, and fresh herbs.

Trinidadian Garbanzo and Potato Curry

As Steve Fortune, from Marabella, Trinidad and Tobago, taught Lindsay Sterling in South Portland, Maine.

Notes: Steve served this 30-minute vegetarian curry with a flaky homemade flatbread, which takes about 2 hours to make. If you don't have time for the flatbread, use store-bought flatbread or serve with rice in a bowl. Steve uses Chief brand curry powder from Trinidad and Tobago: a blend of coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, fennel, chili pepper, and ajwan. The garbanzos and potatoes would taste great with other varieties of curry as well.

Makes: 4 servings
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 small yellow onion, medium dice
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• about 3 cups water, divided
• 2 Tbsp curry powder (he used Chief brand from Trinidad and Tobago)
• 4 large or 8 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced into wedges
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 4-8 pieces of flatbread

Equipment

• cutting board
• knife
• vegetable peeler
• measuring spoons and cups (or just eye-ball it)
• medium pot
• mixing spoon

Instructions

1. In a medium pot on medium high heat, saute onions and garlic in 2 Tbsp oil for about 2 minutes. 

2. Mix 2 Tbsp curry powder with 1 cup water, and pour the mixture into the pot with the onions and garlic.

3. Let the mixture cook until most of the water evaporates and you have a slurry of spices and onions. Add the sliced potatoes. Stir to coat the potatoes with the curry and let cook 2 minutes.

4. Add enough water to almost cover the potatoes, and let cook until potatoes are almost done (soft, but not mushy). 

5. Stir in the garbanzo beans. 

6. Serve with flatbread.

English Popovers

Yorkshire Pudding

As Josephine Morris, from York, England, taught Lindsay Sterling in New Gloucester, ME.

Note: Josephine served these as part of her Sunday dinner, with roast beef, leeks in cheddar sauce, potatoes and gravy. They're also great by themselves for breakfast or brunch with jam and butter. In the U.S., these are called "popovers" because they puff up and pop over the edge of the container when they're cooking.
Makes: 24
Cooking time:  45 min

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups milk
• 5 small eggs (or 4 large)
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Equipment

• blender
• muffin pan(s) for 24 muffins
• hot pads
• teaspoon

Instructions

1. Take milk and eggs out of the fridge so they become room temperature.

2. Turn the oven temp up to 425 degrees F.

3. Pour a teaspoon of oil in each hole of the muffin pan and stick the muffin pan in the oven to preheat.

4. In a blender, combine 5 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups milk. Blend until smooth. When blender is stopped, look to see if there are air bubbles showing on the top of the batter. If not, blend a bit more.

5. Remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and pour batter to fill 1/3 of each mold. Put in over.

6. After fifteen minutes and give the pan a turn for even cooking. After five minutes (or when popovers are puffed up and a little golden, turn off oven and open oven door to let popovers cool down gradually (this helps them keep their shape).

Chilean Corn Pie

Pastel de Choclo

As Benjamin Sepulveda, Marcela Naveas, and Javiera Alvarez, from Santiago, Chile, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. 

Serves: 4
Cooking time: 1 hour
Note: Easily make this dish for 8 by doubling the amounts and using a large casserole dish or two pie plates. 

Ingredients

• 6-8 ears fresh corn or substitute with 4 cups frozen kernels
• 1 cup milk
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 chicken breast
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 + 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp paprika (sweet, not spicy variety)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 3 leaves fresh basil (plus more for garnish)
• 1/2 cup black olives
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 Tbsp sugar

Equipment

• cutting board
• knife
• meat grinder, blender, food processor, or grater
• 2 medium pots
• 1 large pot
• measuring spoons -- or just eyeball it!
• 1 small pot 
• 1 pie plate or similarly sized oven safe dish 
• spatula

Instructions

1. Shuck the corn, and grind the kernels using whatever tool you have. You can grate the kernels off the cob using a grater, or you can slice the kernels off the cob with a knife and then turn them into a rough paste using a meat grinder, food processor, or blender. (To cut the kernels off the cob, turn a cob on its thick end and slice down the length of the cob, shaving the kernels off. Rotate cob and repeat until all the kernels are shaved off.)

2. Chop basil roughly or pulse it briefly with the corn in the blender or food processor. (Don't puree it in there otherwise your topping will turn slightly green, not as appealing as yellow!)

3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook the ground corn and basil in a medium pot with the milk for 20-30 minutes on medium-low until the mixture thickens. 

4. Hardboil the eggs, and boil the chicken. You can do this together in one pot. (Cover both with water, add 1 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down so water is simmering). Once water boils, set a timer for 14 minutes.

5. Dice the onion. In large saute pan, saute the onions in 1 Tbsp oil. When the onions are soft, add ground beef, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 Tbsp paprika, and 1 tsp oregano. Saute, stirring occasionally until the ground beef loses all its pinkness.  

6. When the timer goes off, remove the chicken from the broth and cut into to it to see if it's done (opaque throughout). Cover the eggs in cold water.  Peel the eggs. Slice the chicken and eggs into 1/4-inch pieces.

7. Make the following layers in a deep pie dish or oven-safe baking dish: beef and onions on the bottom, then the chicken slices, then egg slices, olives, and raisins. Cover everything in the corn porridge. Sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden. Broil the top for extra crispy texture. 

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Burundian Spicy Rice

Ipilau 

As Assumpta Karire from Gitega, Burundi, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. Photos by Lindsay Sterling.

Serves: 8
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Note: Assumpta said: "ipilau has everything in it that you need." In Burundi, it's often served with beans, stewed greens, baked chicken with saucy vegetables, and salad.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 green pepper, sliced
• 2 large onions, large dice
• 1/2 cup carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch segments
• 4 tsp pilau spice mixture (see below)
• large handful green beans
• 1/2 cup peas
• 2 1/2 cups white long-grain rice such as basmati or jasmin
• 4 cups water

Ipilau Spice Mixture:

• 6-16 small, hot dried chilis or 1-3 tsp ground chili powder depending on your spice preference
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon or 5 pieces (1-2 inches long)
• 10 whole green cardamon pods
• 1/2 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• 1 piece whole mace or 1/2 tsp mace powder (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 whole star anise
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

1. Blend the ipilau spices in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. You'll have about 12 teaspoons total of the spice mixture. You'll only use 4 tsp today, so put the extra in a small jar or ziplock and use it again next time you make ipilau.

2. Choose a large pot that has a lid. With the lid off, saute onions and peppers in oil for twenty minutes on medium.

3. Add carrots, salt, spices, peas, green beans, and rice. Saute for a couple minutes, stirring, and then add water.

4. Bring to a boil, put lid on, turn heat to low. Rice is ready in about 15 minutes when all the water is absorbed and rice is soft.

Armenian Cheese Phyllo Packets

Burek

As Maggie Saab, whose family was from Kilis, Armenia (today part of Turkey), taught Lindsay Sterling in Falmouth, MA.

Cooking Time: 45 minutes (plus thawing something in the fridge over night)
Serves 8-16 as an appetizer or along with a meal

Ingredients

• 1 box phyllo dough
• 1 cup shredded mild, unsalty cheese (she preferrs Munster)
• 1 cup feta cheese
• 5-6 sprigs parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Equipment

• sheet pan or backing sheet
• parchment paper
• pastry brush
• 2 small bowls
• 1 medium bowl
• cheese grater

Instructions

The night before:

1. The night before you want to cook, thaw the phyllo dough out in the fridge.

The day of:

2. about an hour before cooking put the phyllo on the counter to bring to room temperature before working with it.

3. Preheat the oven to 375. Melt the butter and add the oil to the butter in a small dish. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

4. Mix the cheeses together with chopped parsley in a medium mixing bowl.

5. Open the phyllo dough and unroll it so you have a stack of rectangular sheets. Keep a clean towel handy for covering the stack when you're not using it. This keeps the sheets from drying out and breaking.

6. Take two sheets from the stack at once and place them in front of you with the short end of the rectangle facing you. With a paring knife cut the rectangle in half the long way, making two really tall rectangles. Brush butter along the edges of each rectangle with the pastry brush.

7. Place a spoonful of cheese mixture at the bottom of each rectangle. Then fold the bottom edge of the phyllo over the filling and line it up with side edge so that you start to form a triangle. Then keep folding the triangle up the phyllo dough. You effectively close in the filling and make each triangle have many layers of pastry. Brilliant! Fold the triangle until you can fold no more. (If you've ever folded a flag into a neat triangle it's the same idea here).

8. Place the burek on the lined cookie sheet. Make as many more as you can with your ingredients. Brush the tops of the burek with the butter/oil, stab the tops with a sharp knife to let steam out while cooking, and sprinkle sesame seeds on each. Bake them in the oven 'til golden.

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Armenian Bulgur in Lettuce Leaf

Add this tangy bulgar filling to fresh lettuce (or grape) leaves for a great vegetarian appetizer.

This is the sumac spice. It's tangy, not spicy. 

This is the bulgar. 

Itch

As Maggie Saab, whose family was from Kilis, Armenia (today part of Turkey), taught Lindsay Sterling in Falmouth, MA.

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
Note: You'll likely need to find the asterisked ingredients online or at a Middle Eastern market.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp sumac*
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 cup fine grain (#1) bulgur wheat*
• 3 cups water
• 1 head fresh lettuce or 1/4 head cabbage or fresh grape leaves
• 6-12 sprigs fresh spearmint
• 6-12 sprigs fresh parsley
• Small dish of delicious olives with pits (optional)
• 6 pita bread or flatbread (optional)
• 8 oz. mild white cheese such as hallum (queso blanco also works) (optional)
• 6-12 small sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

Equipment

• large pot with lid
• spoon
• liquid measuring cup (or eyeball it)
• cutting board
• chef knife
• mixing spoon
• serving platter
• bread basket or serving plate
• 4 small serving plates (for sides of olives, herbs, leaves, and cheese)

Instructions

1. In a large pot with lid, saute onions in oil until soft. Add tomato paste and three cups water and bring to a boil. Add salt, sumac, and lemon juice. Once this boils, stir in the bulgur wheat and cover. Let the mixture sit off heat for about 40 minutes.

2. Adjust the texture. If after resting the bulgar has not become a paste, stir in a little bit more bulgur, which will soak up more liquid. The texture you want is is a soft, yet firm paste. If the mixture is too firm and dry you could stir in little bit more water. If adding water or bulgur, let the mixture rest again before serving so the bulgur has time to soak up liquid.

3. Serve itch on a family-style platter, garnished with fresh parsley sprigs. Put out additional fresh leaves of lettuce, cabbage, or grape vine; and fresh spearmint and/or parsley leaves. Guests spoon the itch (the bulgar dish) onto the leaves and top with a fresh sprig of parsley and/or mint. Delicious! Armenian itch also goes well served along with olives, pieces of pita, and slices of mild white cheese with sprigs of fresh thyme.

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Tanzanian Winter Squash

Futari Ya Maboga

As Iman Lipumba from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, taught Lindsay Sterling in Portland, Maine. Adapted from A Taste of Tanzania, by Miriam R. Kinunda. Photos by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: You can make this dish to by saucy or not depending on how much liquid you add. Cooking time: 30 min.
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1/2 small onion, medium dice
• 1 butternut squash (or kobocha or hubbard), or about 1 1/2 lbs., peeled and seeded, and sliced into rectangular planks 1/2" x 2" inches
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 1 tsp cardamom powder or 3 whole black/brown cardamon pods (green also tastes good)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1-3 cups water (if you want sauce - enough to hit the squash in the pot shoulder high)
• dash cinnamon to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in large pot and saute onion until soft. Add ginger and cardamon, stir for one minute; then add water, coconut milk, and salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Add squash and turmeric. Once liquid boils again, cover pan and turn heat to low. Try not to stir or bump the squash if you want nice large pieces. Remove cardamon pods if you used them. Serve pieces of squash with sauce. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of each dish to taste.

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Indian Creamy Spinach with Cheese Cubes

Palak Paneer

As Shweta Galway from Umreth, Gujarat State, India, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.

Notes: Palak paneer is a spinach dish cooked with paneer cheese and spices. She served it with a kind of flatbread called roti. This is her quick weeknight recipe. For a more involved recipe, I enjoyed this one: www.vegrecipesofindia.com/palak-paneer. 

Click here to find Indian markets in your area. In Maine, I go to Masala Mahal, 798 Main St., South Portland, ME, 207-699-5555. 

Makes: 6 servings
Cooking time: 30 minutes (it's helpful to thaw the frozen spinach the night before) 

Ingredients

• 8-10 oz. store bought or homemade paneer
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, medium dice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 boxes frozen creamed spinach, thawed
• 2 tsp garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
• 2 pounds frozen chopped spinach
• 1 tomato (optional)
• 1 inch ginger (optional), peeled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• flatbread (for gluten-free meal, serve with rice)

Instructions

1. Cut paneer cheese into 1/2-inch cubes. Fry paneer pieces in 1 Tbsp oil on medium heat in a saute pan. Turn cubes every so often. You want them to turn golden brown on many sides of the cubes. Dry the fried cheese on paper towels.

2. Add another Tbsp oil to pan and fry onions and garlic until soft. Mix in creamed spinach and chopped spinach. Mix in garam masala, chili powder, and salt. If you like you can blend a tomato and the ginger in a blender and mix that into the spinach. Mix in the fried paneer pieces to the spinach and simmer for 10-20 minutes. 

3. Eat palak paneer by breaking off a piece of flatbread and scooping up a bite of spinach and cheese with it. Repeat.

Congolese Mini Waffles

Gaufres

As Ariane Kambu Mbenza from Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, taught Lindsay Sterling in Yarmouth, ME, in May 2013.

Makes: 146 pieces, serving 10-35 people depending on appetite!

Ingredients

• 5 cups flour
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• spray butter (aka nonstick spray) or oil

Instructions

1. Put flour in bowl of a stand mixer. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into 1/4 inch cubes and melt the rest. Mix cold butter into flour, then mix in warm butter, sugar, and 3 eggs. Mix until incorporated.

2. Add enough milk so the consistency is thick but doesn't completely hold it's shape. Mix until smooth.

3. Heat up waffle iron. Spray the center of each quadrant with spray butter or oil so the waffle doesn't stick to the waffle iron. (You could also brush both sides of the waffle iron with oil).

4. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of batter into the center of each quadrant. Spray the top of each mound of batter with spray butter. Close the waffle iron.

5. When waffles are done, pluck them out of the press with a fork and put on a serving tray to cool. Serve straight up or with whipped cream, honey, ice cream, or peanut butter.

Dominican Rice and Beans

As Angel Ferreras from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine.

Note: Along with meat and fried green plantains, these rice and beans make up the classic Dominican lunch called La bandera (the flag). It's named after the flag, Angel explained, because the meal is as Dominican as the flag and it's served everywhere in the country. These rice and beans are so easy to make and delicious, my family has this dish probably every other week. 

Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

For the beans:

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp Adobo seasoning (main ingredients: salt, turmeric, garlic powder)
• 1/4 green pepper, cut into 1/2" chunks
• 1/8 red onion, sliced into small segments
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 can Roman beans, drained and rinsed (pinto, kidney, red, or black would work as well) 
• 4 oz. tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves

For the rice:

• 2 cups white rice (Goya Canilla brand long grain enriched white rice recommended)
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cups water

Instructions

1. Put all the ingredients for the beans in a medium sauce pot. Bring up to a boil, then simmer for 20-30 minutes. 

2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil with 2 Tbsp vegetable oil and 2 tsp salt in a large, heavy-bottomed pot with lid.

3. Add rice to the boiling water, stirring with a wooden spoon. After five minutes or so, when spoon stays standing up in the cooking rice, or no water is standing above the rice, turn heat to low, and cover the pot with a lid.

4. After ten minutes, turn the rice so that the rice that was on top is on the bottom. Recover. Cook another ten minutes. When rice is cooked, increase the heat to medium-high for two minutes so that the rice on the bottom fries and gets crunchy/toasted but doesn't burn. 

5. Spoon the fluffy rice into one serving bowl and the concon - the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot - onto a separate serving plate. (If you run cold water on the bottom of the rice pot, it makes the rice release much more easily. Also, you can slice through the concon in the pot to make chunks that are easier to pry/lift out of the pan with a spatula. 

6. Serve beans, rice, and concon in separate bowls family style on the table. Serve with Dominican tostones and meat for the popular lunch: la bandera. 

Congolese Orange-Ginger Energy Drink

As Constance Kabaziga's daughter, from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, ME. Photo by Ted Axelrod. 

Note: This awesome energy drink cleanses and burns in a reviving way. It wakes you up with flavor!

Makes: 10 servings
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 quart of orange juice
• 6-inch stalk of ginger
• Sweetener (optional)
• Pineapple juice (optional)

Instructions

1. Peel and cut ginger into chunks.

2. Blend ginger in blender with orange juice. Pour juice through a mesh strainer to strain out the ginger fibers.  

3. Serve the strained ginger-orange juice straight as a refreshing and healthy energy drink. Add sweetener or fresh pineapple juice if you wish.

Nicaraguan Beans and Rice

Gallo Pinto

As Jenny Sanchez, from Leon, Nicaragua, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine. Photo by Lindsay Sterling.

Note: "Gallo" means "rooster" in Spanish; "pinto" means "spotted." The rice and beans cooked this way look mottled like a rooster's feathers.
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients 

• 1 can pinto beans, strained and rinsed
• 1 cup medium or long grain white rice (preferably not parboiled)
• 1/4 green pepper, medium dice
• 1/4 red pepper, medium dice
• ½ small yellow onion, medium dice
• 1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
• about 16 cilantro leaves
• 4 ripe bananas or plantains (yellow with black spots)
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 8 oz. salsa
• 1/2 small cabbage
• 2 tomatoes, large dice
• 1 1/3 limes
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, cut in ½ inch cubes (Jenny couldn’t find the Nicaraguan cheese in the States and found that cheddar tastes great here)

Instructions

1. In a small pot with a lid, bring 1 cup rice and 2 cups water to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and let cook for 20 minutes.

2. While the rice is cooking, in ¼ cup olive oil in large sauté pan, saute yellow onion, red and green peppers until soft. Mix in beans and let cook for 5 minutes on medium high so beans are sizzling in the oil and beginning to brown. Turn over sections of the beans gently with spatula to brown the other sides of the beans. Once beans are slightly browned, scoot the beans into a ring around the outer edge of the pan so the center of the pan is empty.

3. Pile the cooked rice into the center of the pan. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt onto the beans around the rice. Mix the beans and rice together so that the beans are evenly distributed in the rice. Add cilantro leaves, cover and turn off heat.

4. Peel bananas or plantains and slice each lengthwise, then across so that you have 2.5-inch long segments. In 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large sautee pan (preferably nonstick) on medium-low heat, saute bananas or plantains in a single layer until golden brown. (If not using non-stick pan you may use more oil). You may use two pans at once or fry the plantains batches. Because the fruit is so sweet, the natural sugars can burn easily, so keep an eye on your heat and if they’re getting too dark too fast, turn the heat down. Flip each piece so both sides become golden brown.

5. While the bananas are cooking, shave the cabbage on a large cutting board into lacy thin shavings with a paring knife. Cut limes in half and squeeze lime juice directly onto the cabbage. Sprinkle cabbage with ¼ tsp salt. Toss the cabbage so that the lime and salt are evenly distributed.  Sprinkle the diced tomato on top of the cabbage.

6. Get ready to assemble each person’s plate by putting all the components of the dish next to your stack of serving plates: the rice and beans, sour cream, salsa, fried plantains, and cabbage salad.

7. Now fill a cup-sized small bowl or measuring cup with rice and beans and press down as if packing sand into a mold for a sand castle. Flip over the cup of packed rice and beans onto the center of the first plate, releasing an unusually orderly mound of rice and beans. Now make an “X” out of two banana or plantain segments on one side of the beans and repeat with two more segments on the other side. Decorate the empty parts of the plate surrounding the beans and plantains with a generous dollop of sour cream, a couple spoonfuls of salsa, and the cabbage salad. Sprinkle cubes of cheese on top of the rice and beans. Continue assembling the rest of the plates. Enjoy this fine meal!