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Puerto Rican piononos
Piononos: ripe plantain rings filled with beef picadillo and fried
Around Loíza and in the frituras kiosks of Piñones, piononos are sweet-and-savoury rings of ripe plantain wrapped around beef picadillo, sealed with beaten egg and fried until golden. The sugar in very ripe plantain caramelises against the salty, olive-studded filling, and they are served hot as a starter or a whole lunch with salad. The common mistake is using yellow plantains that are only just ripe; they crack when bent, so wait until the skins are mostly black. Chef's tip: fry the plantain strips only until soft and pliable, not crisp, so they wrap round the filling without snapping.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the picadillo
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- ½ green pepperfinely chopped
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 16 oz beef mince
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ cup tomato sauce (passata)
- 1 ¾ oz pimento-stuffed oliveschopped
- 1 oz raisins
- 1 tsp salt
For the piononos
- 3 very ripe plantainsskins mostly black
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor frying
- 3 eggsbeaten with a pinch of salt
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry 1 onion and ½ green pepper for 5 minutes, add 2 cloves garlic for 1 minute, then add 16 oz beef mince and break it up. Cook for 6 minutes until browned all over.
12 minStep 2: Stir in ½ tsp ground cumin, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ cup tomato sauce (passata), 1 ¾ oz pimento-stuffed olives, 1 oz raisins and 1 tsp salt and simmer for 10 minutes until thick and fairly dry. The mince must reach 160°F with no pink left. Cool slightly.
10 minStep 3: Peel 3 very ripe plantains and cut each lengthways into 4 slices about 1 cm thick.
Step 4: Heat 2 cm of 3 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to 350°F. Fry the strips for 2 minutes per side until golden and soft, then drain on kitchen paper.
8 minStep 5: While still warm, curl each strip into a ring about 6 cm across, overlapping the ends, and secure with a cocktail stick. Pack each ring firmly with picadillo.
Step 6: Pour 3 eggs onto a plate. Dip the top of each pionono in the egg and lay it egg-side down in the hot oil for 1 minute to seal, then spoon egg over the top, flip and fry for 1–2 minutes more until set and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
10 minStep 7: Remove the cocktail sticks and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does puerto Rican piononos take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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