Tag: beef
Pabellon Criollo
Pabellon Criollo
Pabellon criollo is a traditional Venezuelan dish consisting of beans, rice, and steak. It is served on a platter; arranged to resemble a flag representing Indigenous, African, and European culinary influences.
Ingredients
Venezuelan Steak
- 1 1/2 lbs flank steak
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 2 roma tomatoes diced
Beans
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp vinegar
Rice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tbsp onion finely chopped
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups water
Instructions
Rice
- Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.

- Add in the rice, water, and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Set aside.

Beans
- Heat up cooking oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.

- Add in the beans, water, bouillon, vinegar, and cumin.

- Simmer for 10 minutes over medium heat until the liquid has reduced. Season with salt.

Venezuelan Steak
- Dissolve the beef bouillon in a pot of water. Add in the flank steak and garlic. Simmer for 90 minutes. Save the reserved beef stock.

- Chop the flank into pieces.

- Sauté the onions in the butter over medium high heat for 5 minutes.

- Add in the flank and tomatoes.

- Simmer for 5 minutes with 1/2 cup of the reserved beef stock.


Thai-Style Cast Iron Butter Steak
Thai-Style Cast Iron Butter Steak
Everybody has had a steak cooked in butter, but this Thai-style butter steak takes it to another level. The steak has garlic pressed into it, then marinated in fish sauce, oyster sauce, and thinly sliced shallots. I recommend using a ribeye, strip, or top sirloin; at least 1 1/2” thick. This recipe will not work with a thin steak. The goal is to create a char from the garlic and shallots on both sides of the steak while achieving a medium rare center. I prefer using a cast iron skillet to cook the steak in. They tend to hold and maintain the heat better than other pans.
Equipment
- cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1 ribeye, NY strip, or top sirloin 1 1/2” – 2” thick
- 8 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 tbsp oyster sauce
- 4 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Press the garlic into the steak. Season with fish sauce. Pour over oyster sauce and shallots. Carefully flip over and repeat the steps. Allow to marinate at room temp for 15 minutes.

- Melt half of the butter in a cast iron skillet over high heat.

- Slide the steak onto the butter with a spatula, making sure to leave all of the garlic and shallots on the steak.

- Cook for 6 minutes. Add in the rest of the butter and flip the steak. A nice charred crust from the garlic and shallots will be on top. Cook for another 6 minutes, continuously basting the steak with the butter in the pan. This will achieve a medium rare center. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.



Pasticho Venezolano
Pasticho Venezolano
With Italy being a huge influence on their cuisine, pasticho is the Venezuelan version of lasagne. The use of soy sauce and worchestershire sauce is commonly used in Venezuelan cooking, giving the red sauce in the pasticho a unique flavor. This pasticho requires a lot of prep work, patience, and the willingness to do more dishes than you’d want. But this Venezuelan lasagne is unbelievably tasty. Instead of eating the whole pan yourself, portion out any leftovers and freeze down on a baking sheet. Place each portion in a vacuum sealed bag and vacuum seal. Place in the freezer until ready for use.
Ingredients
- 1 lb lasagne noodles prepared according to package directions
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cups parmesan cheese
Red Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 5 roma tomatoes diced
- 1 can tomato paste 6oz
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
White Sauce
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 4 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prepare lasagne noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

Red Sauce
- Heat up oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.

- Add in the ground beef. Brown for 6 minutes. Season with soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

- Stir in the tomato paste. Cook for a minute.

- Add in the tomatoes and sugar. Cook down for 5 minutes. Season with the dried basil and oregano.

- Pour in the red wine. Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

White Sauce
- Whisk butter and flour together in a pot over medium heat. Cook for 2 minutes.

- Pour in the milk. Whisk out the lumps.

- Whisk in the parmesan, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the cream sauce thickens.

Pasticho Assembly
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Ladle a large scoop of white sauce to the bottom of a 9”x13” glass baking dish.

- Place a layer of noodles on the bottom.

- Ladle 1/3 of the red sauce over the noodles.

- Place another layer of noodles over the red sauce. Ladle another scoop of white sauce over the noodles. Top with 1/2 cup of mozzarella and a dusting of parmesan.

- Repeat the previous 3 steps 2 more times. Top the pasticho with the remaining white sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.

- Cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.












