Habichuelas Guisadas (Stewed beans) - the Remake!

Today I have a scrumptious dish for you that is sure to awaken your nostalgic Caribbean taste buds. Earlier I gave you the recipe for Spanish rice and beans, but sometimes you want those beans saucy and drenched over the top of your rice like an accompaniment. I've taken those traditional habichuelas and added some hearty veggies so they can be eaten as a full meal without feeling like you're missing a thing. The slightly embarrassing part of this recipe is that I've used canned beans. I remember my mom cooking those dried beans from the morning until the evening...and no doubt the taste difference is noticeable. One of these days I will try my hand at "all-day beans" for sure.

Maybe in the crockpot.  

Habichuelas Guisadas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup sofrito
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp Sazon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cups low sodium veggie broth
2 cans pinto or kidney beans (15 oz. cans)
3 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp green pimento olives, chopped
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Note: You can use store bought Sazon and sofrito, but beware they are laden with harmful chemicals like MSG and artificial coloring/flavoring.  With a little prep, you can make it all yourself fresh and it stores for up to 3 months.  Click the links for recipes ;)

In a medium sized sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 4-5 minutes, until it starts to caramelize. Add the sofrito and Sazon seasoning. Saute for 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, oregano, cumin and a pinch of black pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and beans, potatoes, carrots, and olives. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 25-30 minutes, to allow the flavors to meld and the potato/carrots to cook. Check for seasoning, and add sea salt if desired. Serve over white or yellow rice - or the way I like it...steamed brown rice!

This dish is absolutely delish! Feel free to add some extra cilantro, or as we call it in Puerto Rico - recao. This is the base of your sofrito so there is already some in there, but some like it more pronounced. If you'd like your beans less hearty and more traditional, cut down significantly on the amount of veggies.

Vegan Pastelón

Yesssss. Pastelón. This was a favorite dish in my home on special occasions. If it was a birthday, shower, someone leaving home (or coming back), a major holiday or other cause to celebrate...pastelón was present.

Just a few weekends ago I attended my cousin's 50th and there was faithful pastelón, right next to the arroz con gandules. I watched as person after person placed a big chunk of it on top of their rice, as drool formed in the sides of their mouths and water collected in mine. Yet my choice to be vegan transcends pastelóny goodness and I passed on this my favorite dish.

Albeit when the idea came to me for this blog, it was the first dish that came to mind. What makes this puerto rican lasagna so good is the sweetness of the plantains mixed with the saltiness of the beef and cheese. I knew that Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese would be perfect, but couldn't decide what to use instead of beef. It was a toss between soy-based vegetarian beef substitutes, black beans or mushrooms. In the end, I decided to go with basic black beans - and it was perfect!

So without further ado, here is my vegan pastelón recipe. My dinner guests (and hubby) raved - but more importantly, it passed the true taste test and lived up to MY expectations. Enjoy!

Pastelón

4 plantains
3 cans black beans
1 onion, minced
1 tbsp sazón
8 green pimento stuffed olives, quartered
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese (I used 1 bag of Daiya Cheese)
sea salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut plantains in half and boil in a large pot until soft and bright yellow (about 45 minutes).



While plantains are boiling, place beans in a colander and rinse well, smooshing a little with your hands as go to create texture. Combine beans, onion, olives, and sazón in a heated large skillet at medium-high heat with 2 Tbs of olive oil.



Mix well until heated through and onions are soft. Add in tomato sauce and sea salt to taste, set aside.



CAREFULLY peel plantains (they're super hot) and place in a bowl to be mashed.




In a baking safe pan, start with a layer of plantains, then beans, then cheese. Repeat.





Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Eat up! Serves approx 8.


PS: I did end up with leftover bean mixture, but I just refrigerated it and used it for other recipes like black bean quesadillas. Mmmm...

Spanish Rice and Beans

It's pretty funny to me that rice and beans are categorized as a side dish. It makes you picture those healthy plates divided in thirds where the rice only takes up like the palm of your hand. Riiight. Not in my house.

Growing up Puerto Rican means rice takes up the entire plate, and anything else you're eating gets thrown on top. Come on, you know I'm telling the truth. We love us some rice and beans!

This recipe came out soooo good that my guest said it tasted just like his grandma used to make. Wow - there is no better compliment than that! You'd never know that I used healthy brown rice instead of the usual white rice. Yummy yummy yummy AND good for you; mission accomplished!

Spanish Rice and Beans
2 cups brown basmati rice
4 to 5 cups of water or veggie broth
½ cup sofrito
1 can of pinto beans
2 tablespoons pimento stuffed green olives
1 tbsp of sazon
1 can tomato paste
3 tablespoons of oil
Salt & pepper to taste

In a medium size pot add the oil, tomato paste, olives, sofrito and sazon. Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.

Add all other ingredients, and enough water to cover the rice 1" above the rice line. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt stir and keep adding and mixing well until you are satisfied with the taste. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until most of the water is absorbed. Once the water has been absorbed, stir gently from bottom to top - once or twice only, cover and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 30 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Not the best photo, but everyone was eating it so fast I almost forgot to grab a shot of it. Here it is featured with a little side salad and some pastelon (recipe for that coming tomorrow). Enjoy!