Tostones With Ground Beef & Avocado
TOSTONES WITH GROUND BEEF & AVOCADO
Recipe & photo by Catherine Baker
Makes 1 to 2 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1⁄2 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon + 1⁄2 teaspoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning
- 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow or white onion, diced
- 3 heads of garlic, minced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 ripe Hass avocado
- 1 lime, cut in half
- Neutral oil for frying (like canola or vegetable)
- 1 green plantain
METHOD
1) MAKE THE BEEF MIXTURE
Heat a medium skillet to medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and let sear for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper. Mix all together and let the beef sauté another 4 to 5 minutes, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Once it’s browned all over, remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and bell pepper and sauté another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 1⁄2 teaspoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Sauté another 4 to 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, add the beef into the skillet, mix all together, and let cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro, mix together, turn off heat, and set mixture aside.
2) MAKE THE YOGURT SAUCE
In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the juice of half a lime, a pinch of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Set aside.
TIP: You could add some of your favorite Pisqueya salsa to the yogurt sauce!
3) SLICE THE AVOCADO
Cut the avocado in half, then peel away the skin from the flesh. Cut into slices, then sprinkle with salt and squeeze a little lime juice over all slices. Set aside.
4) FRY THE TOSTONES
In the same small cast-iron skillet, pour enough neutral oil to deep fry the plantain rounds (about halfway up the side of the skillet) and turn to medium-high heat.
Using a sharp knife, cut vertically down the side of the plantain (do not cut too deeply; you just want to puncture the skin). Then, using a dull knife, peel the skin back away from the flesh. The skin should then easily come off the entire plantain. (If not, keep using the dull knife to push the skin away from the flesh.) Cut the plantain into 1-inch rounds. You should get about 8 to 10 rounds out of one plantain.
Place one plantain round into the oil to see if it’s ready; if it immediately sizzles, the oil is ready and you can add the rest of the plantain rounds. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until it’s a light golden color. Remove the plantains from the skillet onto a paper-towel-lined plate or cutting board. Smash each round with a tostonera, or the bottom of a cup or other hard surface.
Fry the smashed rounds in the hot oil for another minute on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Remove the tostones from the skillet onto a clean paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle each with a little salt.
5) ASSEMBLY
You’ll want to work fast here, because tostones are best eaten hot! Dollap each tostone with a little of the yogurt sauce, followed by a small scoop of the beef mixture, and then an avocado slice. Repeat this step on each toston until you have topped all of them. Give the whole plate an extra squeeze of lime juice. Enjoy immediately.
¡Buen provecho!
TOSTONES WITH GROUND BEEF & AVOCADO
Recipe & photo by Catherine Baker
Makes 1 to 2 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1⁄2 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon + 1⁄2 teaspoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning
- 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1⁄8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow or white onion, diced
- 3 heads of garlic, minced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 ripe Hass avocado
- 1 lime, cut in half
- Neutral oil for frying (like canola or vegetable)
- 1 green plantain
METHOD
1) MAKE THE BEEF MIXTURE
Heat a medium skillet to medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and let sear for 2 to 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄8 teaspoon black pepper. Mix all together and let the beef sauté another 4 to 5 minutes, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Once it’s browned all over, remove from the skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and bell pepper and sauté another 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 1⁄2 teaspoon Pisqueya Adobo seasoning, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Sauté another 4 to 5 minutes. Turn heat to low, add the beef into the skillet, mix all together, and let cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro, mix together, turn off heat, and set mixture aside.
2) MAKE THE YOGURT SAUCE
In a small bowl, mix the yogurt with the juice of half a lime, a pinch of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Set aside.
TIP: You could add some of your favorite Pisqueya salsa to the yogurt sauce!
3) SLICE THE AVOCADO
Cut the avocado in half, then peel away the skin from the flesh. Cut into slices, then sprinkle with salt and squeeze a little lime juice over all slices. Set aside.
4) FRY THE TOSTONES
In the same small cast-iron skillet, pour enough neutral oil to deep fry the plantain rounds (about halfway up the side of the skillet) and turn to medium-high heat.
Using a sharp knife, cut vertically down the side of the plantain (do not cut too deeply; you just want to puncture the skin). Then, using a dull knife, peel the skin back away from the flesh. The skin should then easily come off the entire plantain. (If not, keep using the dull knife to push the skin away from the flesh.) Cut the plantain into 1-inch rounds. You should get about 8 to 10 rounds out of one plantain.
Place one plantain round into the oil to see if it’s ready; if it immediately sizzles, the oil is ready and you can add the rest of the plantain rounds. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until it’s a light golden color. Remove the plantains from the skillet onto a paper-towel-lined plate or cutting board. Smash each round with a tostonera, or the bottom of a cup or other hard surface.
Fry the smashed rounds in the hot oil for another minute on each side, until golden brown and crispy. Remove the tostones from the skillet onto a clean paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle each with a little salt.
5) ASSEMBLY
You’ll want to work fast here, because tostones are best eaten hot! Dollap each tostone with a little of the yogurt sauce, followed by a small scoop of the beef mixture, and then an avocado slice. Repeat this step on each toston until you have topped all of them. Give the whole plate an extra squeeze of lime juice. Enjoy immediately.
¡Buen provecho!