Vegetarian Cubana

Two weeks ago, my husband and I went out to dinner to celebrate with some friends; their engagement and our pregnancy. Since they live in Daytona, we decided to meet in St. Augustine for dinner. My husband was born and raised in St. Augustine, and knows the restaurants well, so we had a hard time deciding where to go. We finally settled on The Columbia. We had an absolutely delicious meal, and I am hoping we can make it back there again soon! They specialize in Spanish, Cuban, and Mexican food, and since we're in Florida, the seafood is top notch. We each ordered something different: the paella, ropa vieja, mariscos diablo (spicy pasta dish with the entire ocean of seafood), and the vegetarian cubana.

The Vegetarian Cubana was simply listed as yucca, black beans, rice, plantains and sauteed fresh vegetables. It wasn't as intriguing as the other vegetarian dishes, but it had all of my favorite ingredients, and I knew The Columbia would put their twist on it. The meal was a bed of soft white rice topped with simply seasoned, tender black beans, two tostones, two maduros, a piece of steamed yucca topped with a spicy tomato relish, sauteed snap peas with strips of bell pepper, and the dish was sprinkled with diced raw onion. Though each element wasn't very complex, when it was all together it made a complete, delicious meal. Each individual component was perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, and complimentary of one another. 

I couldn't get the meal out of my head since we left the restaurant, and knew I'd have to recreate it at home. After all, it costs only pennies to make (but wasn't too expensive at $16.95 in the upscale-restaurant). While I loved the yucca and two kinds of plantains, I decided to skip them this time to make this meal weeknight-friendly with less cooking time and preparation. A few other options are to make your rice ahead of time (I prefer brown rice, which takes 30 minutes to cook, sometimes I make a big batch on the weekends) and to use your slow cooker to make beans (dried beans are cheaper and cans don't contain BPA, organic is easily available as well!). 

While scouring recipes for tostones and maduros, I found there were no baked versions, but I was determined to not fry them. If you'd like to see authentic fried tostones, I've made them here. Instead I opted for Maduros made in the oven in a foil packet, they still caramelized and were tender and sweet with a crisp coating, very similar to the fried version and my new go-to for plantains! I hope you try this meal out and enjoy it, it's simple but fancy-looking and absolutely delicious!

 Vegetarian Cubana

black beans, rice, roasted maduros, vegetable saute'   

2/3 c. brown rice blend

1 1/3 c. water or vegetable stock

2 c. black beans (or 1 15 oz. can drained)

1/2 c. water or vegetable stock

2 garlic cloves

1 bay leaf

Salt

2 very ripe plantains

1 tbsp. EVOO

1 tsp. turbinado sugar

2 c. sugar snap peas

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in thin strips

1 tsp. EVOO

1 tsp. adobo seasoning or chili powder

Salt and pepper

Diced raw onion, if desired

Preheat oven to 425*

In a small stock pot, bring water to a boil, add rice and turn to simmer.

Cook covered for 30 minutes, or how long package directs.

In another small stock pot, bring beans, water, garlic, bay and salt to a boil.

Turn to low and simmer uncovered while rice cooks.

Place a piece of foil on a sheet pan. 

Peel plantains and cut 1" rounds on a bias.

Place on half the foil, drizzle with EVOO and sugar, toss to coat.

Bring the other half of the foil over and pinch closed, making a packet.

Place in the oven, bake for 15 minutes, open, flip and close, baking for another 10 minutes.

Heat a saute' pan over medium heat, add EVOO, snap peas, peppers and adobo.

Toss and cook for 5-7 minutes, until vegetables are just softened. 

Plate rice, top with black beans, arrange plantains and snap peas on the side and sprinkle the dish with raw onion. 

Black Bean and Plantain Patties with Peach Salsa

We consume beans often in our home, they're so versatile and of course, are a pantry staple for most people. Even though I can get a can of organic beans at Whole Foods for $1, buying a bag and cooking them myself is much cheaper... we're talking pennies! At least every other weekend I try to buy a bag of organic (and Fair Trade, if possible) beans and cook them in the crock-pot for a few hours. Then I store them in little zip-lock freezer bags (which I re-use when I cycle them in and out!) and have little bags of cooked beans at my disposal. Not only does this cost less, but it also means my waste is one plastic bag rather than 4-5 aluminum cans per week. 

Usually I under cook my beans just a bit because when I use them later on, they are re-cooked and I don't like mushy beans. The only time this plan backfires on me is when I make bean patties or burgers. When I made these patties, the beans were a bit al dente, and were probably the reason they didn't stick together quite as well as I had hoped. 

I changed the recipe a bit from the original, which I found on Two Blue Lemons. It is suggested you use a ripe plantain, but I recommend using overly ripe plantains. I took half of my large plantain and mashed it to help work as a binder in this vegan recipe. Then I diced the rest so there would still be nice chunks of plantain strewn through the patties. I dredged the patties in a tiny bit of cornmeal to add a crunchy crust. Finally, because peaches and on their way out of season, I made a fresh peach salsa rather than an avocado one as the recipe is written. 

Though the patties did hold together, I would make one change for the future, and I do plan to make these again! As I do with many bean patties, I would puree half the beans completely and mix them with the mashed plantain, then fold in the diced plantain chunks and whole beans. 

VBS Tips and Trades:

-One of the additional reasons I do not buy canned beans is because of the BPA threat, a toxic chemical in plastics #7 and some canned foods. BPA keeps the can's lining from breaking down. Many companies are making an effort to get rid of BPA, including Eden Organic. The most common canned item containing BPA is tomatoes. It's best to choose glass or tetra-pack (these, for example)  

-When choosing your plantains, look for ripe ones that have many black spots and look overly-ripe. If they're green at all, the plantains will be hard to peel, and won't be mash-able. 

Plantain and Black Bean Patties

adapted from Two Blue Lemons

Patties:

2 c. black beans or 1 15. oz can drained and rinsed

1 plantain, 1/2 c. mashed, 1/2 c. finely diced

1/4 c. minced red onion

1/4 c. minced cilantro

1 garlic clove, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. corriander

Salt and pepper

1/4 c. cornmeal

Peach Salsa:

1 large peach, washed, pitted and finely diced

2 tbsp. minced red onion

2 tbsp. minced cilantro

1/2 c. finely diced tomato

Juice of 1 lime

1 jalapeño, finely minced

Salt and pepper

Add half of the beans and half of the plantain to a food processor, puree.

Pour into a mixing bowl, add remaining black beans, plantain, red onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, cumin, cayenne, coriander, salt and pepper. 

Chill for 10 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, toss together salsa ingredients, place in the refrigerator.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Spray a small, round, flat dish (or a burger patty maker) with nonstick spray, dust with cornmeal, spoon 3/4 c. of mixture in and form into a patty. 

Place on the skillet, repeat to form about 4 patties.

Cook for 5 minutes, check for a deep golden crust, carefully flip and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Plate, serve with peach salsa and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro. 

Mayan Harvest Bake, Take II

Almost a year ago, I posted my recreation of a delicious Kashi frozen dinner entrée. Since then, that post has generated more traffic and questions that any other (except maybe my sugar cookies and twilight cake. which, by the way, happy eclipse premiere night, twi-hards!!!)

I think I did a good job at recreating it, but it could have been better. Starting with the bottom layer, which is a 7-grain Kashi polenta, but I used quinoa. This time around, I decided to make a 3-grain polenta because I wasn't able to find the Kashi 7-grain mix in the grocery store. Next, I roasted my sweet potatoes and plantains separately so they cooked through (some people mentioned problems with undercooked potatoes). Finally, I made my sauce a bit saucier, and topped it with pepitas, as Kashi does. 

I think this version is much closer to the original, but either one is absolutely delicious! 

Mayan Harvest Bake, Take II

Serves 2 generous portions

polenta base:

1/4 c. quinoa, rinsed

1/4 c. bulgur wheat

1/2 c. polenta or grits

3 c. vegetable stock

sauce:

1 tbsp. EVOO

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small yellow onion, minced

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tbsp. ancho chile powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground corriander

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 c. (or more) vegetable stock

1 medium sweet potato, washed and scrubbed, diced 

1 large plantain, sliced in 1/2" thickness on a bias

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. chopped kale

2 tbsp. pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

Preheat oven to 400*

Line a baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick spray.

Add potato cubes and plantain disks in a single layer, top with another piece of foil to create a packet.

Place in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes, until tender and slightly browned.

In a small stockpot over medium, add the oil, garlic and onions.

Season with salt and pepper, cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer, to turn low and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally.

In another pot, bring stock to a boil.

Add quinoa, bulgur and polenta, whisking while they're added.

Turn to medium-low and simmer, covered.

Every 2-3 minutes, remove the lid and stir the mixture, cook for 20 minutes, or until thickened.

(If it's still too watery, leave lid off and reduce for an additional 5 minutes, it just depends on the polenta you use)

Place sauce mixture in a blender and puree, if desired.

Pour polenta into a casserole dish, top with kale, black beans, sweet potatoes, plantains, sauce and pepitas. 

Place in the 400* oven and cook for 10 minutes, to warm through and slightly wilt kale.

Serve with additional sauce, if desired.