Tag: main course
Menestra de Porotos (Ecuadorian Bean Stew)
Menestra de Porotos (Ecuadorian Bean Stew)
Menestra de porotos is an Ecuadorian-style bean stew. The beans are always eaten with rice, a curtido, fried plantains, avocado, and a protein of your choice. Or you can skip the protein and make the meal vegan.
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb dry white beans
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium red onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tomato diced
- 1/2 tsp annatto powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 4 cups water
- 3 tbsp parsley chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight in cold water.
- Heat up cooking oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes, cumin, annatto powder, and chili powder. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add in the beans and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 2 hours.
- Stir in the parsley. Season with salt.
Langostino Ceviche
Langostino Ceviche
Langostinos are a crustacean that’s related to the hermit crab, but are more like a cross between a shrimp and a lobster. Sweet in flavor, langostinos make a great ceviche. The problem is finding good quality langostino. Unless you live on an ocean coastline in South America, you are going to have a hard time trying to find fresh whole langostinos. You can find big bags of tail meat at Costco in the frozen section that is good quality. If you have uncooked tail meat, you can simply drop the langostino in boiling water for no more than 30 seconds, then shock in an ice bath to stop the cooking. They cook that quick. If you have cooked tail meat, skip this process. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and let marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Serve the ceviche with plantain or tortilla chips.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- mandolin slicer
Ingredients
- 8 oz langostino meat
- 1/4 medium red onion sliced 1/8” thick on a mandolin
- 5 limes juiced
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Placd the sliced red onions in a bowl of salted warm water for 10 minutes.
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Boil the langostino meat for 30 seconds.
- Scoop out the langostinos and place in ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Drain the red onions and the langostino meat. Placd in a bowl with the lime juice, garlic, serrano, cilantro, and salt. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Place the ceviche in a serving bowl. Mix in the olive oil.
Silpancho Cochobambino
Silpancho Cochobambino
Silpancho Cochobambino might be one of the most ultimate dishes the world has seen. This popular Bolivian staple has just about everything you can imagine on the plate. It starts with a bed of heaping garlic rice. On one side of the plate, a breaded and fried beef patty is placed on the rice. The beef patty is topped with a fried egg. On the other side of the plate are fried potatoes and slices of avocado. The entire dish is topped off with a tomato onion salad. There’s no question about it: this is a heavy meal. Maybe only eat silpancho once a year if you like to count your calories.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
Tomato and Onion Salad
- 1 medium tomato seeded and diced
- 1/4 medium white onion diced
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt
Potatoes
- 4 small potatoes
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
Rice
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 medium white onion diced
- 3 cups day old rice
- salt to taste
Beef Patty
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil for frying
Extras
- 2 large eggs fried sunny side up
- 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
Tomato and Onion Salad
- Mix all of the ingredients together. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Rice
- Heat up olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and onions for 3 minutes.
- Add in the day old rice, making sure to break up any clumps. Fry for 3 minutes. Season with salt. Set aside.
Potatoes
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the whole potatoes. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Boil for about 12 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through, but still slightly firm. Drain and let cool.
- Heat up olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Slice the potatoes into 3. Add the potatoes to the oil.
- Fry the potatoes for 4 minutes a side until crispy. Set aside.
Beef Patty
- Season the ground beef with salt, pepper, and cumin. Form into 2 thin patties; about 1/2” thick.
- Dip the patties in the beaten egg.
- Dredgd the patties in breadcrumbs.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the beef patties. Fry the patties for 3-4 minutes a side until crispy.
Silpancho Cochobambino Assembly
- Plate about 1 1/2 cups of the rice across the entire plate.
- Top on side with the fried beef patty. Top the beef patty with a fried egg. On the top corner, plate some of the potatoes. Below that, half an avocado. Top the entire plate with the tomato onion salad.
