blue artichoke

Sometimes I play fast and loose with time. For example, when I say on Saturday that I'll write more about dinner tomorrow, I might actually mean Tuesday. What was so special about Saturday night's dinner is that it was the second in a hopefully recurring series called Wandering Gullet. Two weeks ago, Gentleman Caller and I were invited to a traditional Lebanese dinner party hosted by some friends. We ate so much good food, mostly food whose names I can't remember or pronounce. Then, last Saturday, we had Venezuelan food. I like this trend, so I've decided to branch out to try more ethnic food. I cook Mexican food fairly often, so I thought I'd start with another Latin American country, Venezuela. We had something called Pabellon Criollo, which is steak in tomato sauce with black beans and plantains. It took about three hours to cook, but was pretty good. Each part itself was a bit bland, but some salt added at the table livened up the meal. I don't know if I've ever had plantains before. Man, I'm a big fan now. These were simply cooked, pan-fried, and used mainly as garnish, but it was my favorite part of the meal. Here's the recipe, for anyone with several hours and a hankering for Venezuelan food. I've added more seasoning to the original recipe, so if you try it, hopefully it won't be bland.

Pabellon Criollo (Steak in Tomato Sauce with Black Beans, Rice and Plantains)

Foods of the World: Latin American Cooking, Time-Life Books, 1968

Venezuela

Black Beans:
1-½ c. dried black beans, thoroughly rinsed in cold water
5 c. cold water + more as necessary to prevent scorching
2 T. olive oil
½ c. finely chopped green pepper
2 T. finely chopped onions
½ t. finely chopped garlic
3 fresh cilantro sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste
Steak + Sauce:
2# lean top sirloin of beef or boneless sirloin steak, cut ½” thick
1/3 c. olive oil
1 c. coarsely chopped onions
1 t. finely chopped garlic
6 med tomatoes, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped, or 2 c. chopped, drained, canned Italian plum tomatoes
½ t. ground cumin seeds
1 t. salt
Rice:
¼ c. olive oil
½ large peeled onion
½ large green pepper, seeded, deribbed and left in 1 piece
2 c. raw long-grain rice
4 c. boiling water
2 t. salt, or to taste
Plantains:
½ c. veggie oil
2 large ripe plantains, peeled, each cut crosswise in half and lengthwise into 6-8 slices

Black Beans: Combine beans and water in a heavy 4-5-qt flameproof casserole. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 2h.

In a heavy 8-10” skillet, heat 2 T. oil over moderate heat. Add green pepper, onions and garlic. Cook 3m, stirring constantly; scrape into simmering beans. Add cilantro, salt and pepper; cook 15m, or until beans are tender. Discard cilantro. Cover the casserole and put aside.

Steak + Sauce: Salt and pepper steak. Heat broiler to highest point and broil the steak 4” from heat for 5m/side. Watch for any sign of burning and regulate heat accordingly. When finished, the steak should be med-rare. With a knife or your fingers, but or pull meat into pieces ¼” wide and ½” long. In a heavy 12” skillet heat 1/3 c. oil over moderate heat. Add 1 c. of onions and 1 t. garlic; cook 5m, stirring occasionally. When the onions are soft and transparent but not brown, add the tomatoes, cumin and 1 t. salt. Reduce heat to low and cook, uncovered, 30m, stirring frequently until tomato juices evaporate and sauce becomes a thick puree. Drop in the strips of beef, mix well with the sauce, cover skillet and set aside.

Rice: Preheat the oven to 250. In a heavy 3-4-qt casserole, heat ¼ c. of oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Add onion and pepper halves; cook 5m, turning frequently, until they color lightly. Add rice and stir constantly for 2-3m to coat the rice with oil. Don’t let rice burn. Pour 4 c. boiling water over rice; add sat and bring to a boil. Stir 1-2x, then cover pan and reduce heat to low. Simmer undisturbed for 20m, or until rice is tender and has absorbed all the liquid. Remove the cover and discard the onion and pepper. Drape the casserole with a towel and keep the rice warm in the oven.

Plantains: Heat ½ c. oil in a heavy 10-12” skillet over moderate heat. Drop in plantain pieces and cook for 2-3m/side until tender and golden brown.

To assemble: Return the beans and beef to low heat and cook to heat through. Spoon the beef into the center of a large heated platter. Surround it with alternating mounds of rice and black beans. Decorate the platter with plantain slices and serve at once.

Serves 4-6.