Piñon: Beef Plantain Omelette

Piñon is a thick omelette-style cake filled with ground beef, fried ripened plantains and capers and olives. This dish is the epitome of good Puerto Rican comfort food and it tastes great served with a cold malta (if you haven't tried a malta yet, taste it with caution. It's an acquired taste!). My mom has perfected this dish but mine didn't come out as pretty looking as hers, hence no picture, but the taste was delicious. The sweet plaintains with the beef and sofrito is a winning combination.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 very ripe plantains
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sofrito (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon capers, rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon sliced green olives
• Salt and pepper
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel the plantains, cut into 2-inch thick legthwise slices, and fry in the olive oil until golden brown. Remove, drain in a paper towel and keep warm.
3. Add one tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and fry at high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, the sofrito and add the capers and olives. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (As always, taste first before adding salt).
4. Beat the eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste, until fluffy. Butter the sides and bottom of a round casserole and melt the remaining butter in the bottom.
5. Pour in half of the beaten eggs and cook over medium heat (over the stove top) for about 1 minute or until slightly set. Cover the eggs with one-third of the plantain slices, following with layers of half the ground meat. Add another layer of plantains, the remainder of the ground beef and top with plantains. Pour the rest of the beaten eggs over the top.
6. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, uncovered, being careful not to let the omelette burn. Then place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown the top of the piñon. Serve with rice and beans.