Picadillo de platano verde

Picadillo de platano verde reminds me of the hamburger mince gravy my dad made each week.

A colourful, exotic Latin cousin perhaps, with its chunks of red pepper and golden plantain, spicy with cumin and paprika.

I found it interesting that Worcestershire sauce turned up in most of the picadillo recipes I looked at.

Like great-uncle Arthur’s chin or great-aunt Nellie’s hooded eyelids recurring across the generations.

Picadillo de platano verde
(serves 4)

• 2 large green plantains, peeled, cut into three pieces
• 2 tsp sunflower oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 250g ground beef
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp oregano
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• a knob of butter
• salt and pepper
• ¼ cup fresh coriander, chopped

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the plantain pieces until tender. Drain, reserving the cooking water.
2. Chop the plantain into 1cm pieces and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium flame. Add the onion and celery and sauté until softened.
4. Add the ground beef and sauté until browned.
5. Sprinkle over the cumin, paprika and oregano and stir to combine.
6. Add the red pepper and garlic and cook a few minutes more.
7. Stir in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and a cup of the plantain cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes.
8. Stir in the chopped plantains and butter and cook for five minutes more.
9. Remove from the heat, stir in the coriander, and season to taste. Let the picadillo sit for fifteen minutes before serving with rice or corn tortillas.

Family score: 8.25 out of 10

Tags: beef, Central American food, gluten-free, plantains