Green plantain breakfast/lunch/dinner

Plantains, or cooking bananas/green bananas, are everywhere in Ecuador! They can be recognised by their big size and if unripe, their green colour. The bananas are different from the 'normal' bananas you usually find in the supermarket. They have a higher amount of starch and less sugar and if I am correct, also contain vitamin B6, vitamin C and much potassium and sodium. When unripe, they are quite tasteless but when yellow, they become more sweet. For this recipe, we will use the unripe plantain which is also used for patacones, bolon de verde, empanadas de verde and chifles, dishes you can find throughout Ecuador. The recipe I will describe is very simple and can be made for breakfast (as an alternative for scrambled eggs for example) or for lunch/dinner in combination with veggies.

Ingredients (2p, lunch):

Plantain dish:
- 2 green plantains
- 1 onion
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp paprika powder (optional)
- vegetable oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- water

On the side:
- 1 avocado
- 2 tomatoes
- kidney/brown beans

1. Put enough water to boil for boiling the plantain.
2. To prepare the plantain you first need to rid it of it's peel. You can do this by cutting the corners down, and then peel of the rest of the peel. Or follow this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5XW4iRSMcI
3. Cut the plantain in 5 pieces and add to the boiling water. Let it boil for 30 minutes, or until you can quite easily put a fork in it.
4. In the mean time, cut the tomatoes into small pieces and cut the avocado into slices. Also cut the onion and the garlic into small pieces.
5. Bake the beans in a frying pan.
6. When the plantains are cooked, put them in a bowl and crush them with a fork until you only have small pieces (0.5-1 cm)
7. Heat up oil in a frying pan, when hot add the onion and bake for 5 minutes, then add the garlic for 1 minute and then add plantain, the cumin and paprika powder and bake until the plantain is golden-brown.
8. Add salt & peper to taste.
9. Put everything together on a plate and enjoy! :D

You can basically mix this plantain dish (without the side ingredients) with everything. You can add it to soup, or in wraps, or well just almost anything! :)

Ready In: 45 min.

Ingredients:

2 green plantains
1 onion
3 gloves of garlic
cumin powder
paprika powder
vegetable oil
avocado
tomato
kidney beans/brown beans

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Vegan Arepas

Arepas are corn pancakes/bread that can be eaten in all kinds of ways. If I understood correctly, arepas are mostly eaten like a kind of sandwich in Colombia (so cut open the arepa and put stuffing inside), while in Ecuador I mostly got it as a kind of thick pancake with other things on top.

Since I am vegan I try to find food that fills me up and gets me through a day of walking and sightseeing. This arepas recipe is perfect for this; it is super easy, very filling, healthy and most importantly super delicious. Of course, you can adjust the recipe to your liking, but here is the recipe the way I like it:

Ingredients for one/two people:

Arepas:

1 cup arepa flour (in the Netherlands I can only find P.A.N. but other brands are masarepa and harina blanca. Just look for 'pre-cooked corn flour' and if you're in a Spanish speaking country just say 'harina para arepas?' which means 'flour for arepas?' and they will help you.
1 1/4 cup warm-hot water
Pinch of salt
One Tbsp vegetable oil (sunflower)
Optional: other ingredients to add to the bread (I often add garlic or onion (small pieces) or paprika powder)

On the side:

1 can brown beans or kidney beans (400gr)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can of corn
1 onion cut into small pieces
3 cloves of garlic cut into small pieces
2 diced tomatoes (optional)
1 avocado (optional)
One tablespoon paprika powder
Chili (optional)
Salt (optional)
Oil

1. Cut the ingredients that you want to mix with the arepa flour into small pieces.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the arepas.
3. Knead until you get a ball of dough.
4. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes.

1. Cook the onions in vegetable oil for about 3-5 minutes
2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute
3. Now add the can of beans, corn and can of tomatoes (optional: chili & salt)
4. Turn to low heat and let it simmer

5. Now shape the arepa dough to 1cm thick pancakes. You can choose the size depending on what you prefer.
6. Bake the arepa in a good non-stick pan with enough oil and turn over when the bottom is golden-brown (you can also semi-fry them by adding a lot of oil and adding the arepa when the oil is hot)
7. Put the arepa on a plate, add the bean mix and add some fresh avocado and tomato pieces

ENJOY! :)

Ready In: 30 min.

Ingredients: