Caribbean Kugel

Name: Caribbean Kugel
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Cuisine: jewish, latin american
Ingredients: 6 large ripe plantains; Vegetable oil for frying; 2 medium onions; 1 large sweet green pepper; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 pounds lean ground beef; 1/3 cup pitted green olives; 1/4 cup raisins; 1 1/2 to 2 cups tomato sauce; 1 cup white or red wine; Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 3 eggs

Recipe from Nancy Tuchman Joseph

Adapted by Joan Nathan

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rating: 4(28)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: A Little Plantain At the Passover Table

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings

6large ripe plantains
Vegetable oil for frying
2medium onions
1large sweet green pepper
3tablespoons olive oil
3cloves garlic, minced
2pounds lean ground beef
⅓cup pitted green olives
¼cup raisins
1½ to 2cups tomato sauce
1cup white or red wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3eggs

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Peel plantains, and cut each into 4 or 5 slices lengthwise. Heat about ¼-inch of the vegetable oil in a pan, and fry as many slices as can fit in pan at one time. Fry slices for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels, and blot any remaining oil from slices. Repeat with remaining slices.
Step 2
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop onions and green pepper into 1-inch pieces. Heat olive oil in a large pan, and sauté vegetables until tender. Add garlic, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook over medium-high heat until meat loses its red color, breaking it up and mashing with a potato masher so mixture is as fine as possible.
Step 3
Reduce heat to low and add olives, raisins, tomato sauce, wine and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Beat eggs in a small bowl.
Step 4
Assemble kugel in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish by arranging a layer of plantain slices, meat mixture, and remaining plantain slices. Slices should touch each other but not overlap. Pour beaten eggs on top, and spread over plantains. Bake about 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Ratings

4 out of 5

28 user ratings

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Comments

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Me2 months ago

We’ve been making this annually since it first appeared in print and it deserves some comment love! If plantains are large we use fewer, and also save some picadillo for later in the week. Just make it fit the pan, use all the eggs, and thank Cubans for our favorite Passover dish.

ed4 years ago

I cooked this only b/c I found myself unexpectedly up to my elbows in plantains. I roasted them instead of frying. I wasn't expecting much, but this dish was delicious. Plaintains make a great casserole starch.

Soph6 years ago

We make this in Puerto Rico too - we call it pastelon. Non-Jews use cheese on top to help bind it like lasagna. My non-Jewish Puerto Rican mother is lactose intolerant and leaves out the cheese. She also makes it in a fry pan like a frittata. You put down half of the egg first, then the plantain and the beef, and the second layer of plantain. When the egg layer is cooked, you pour the rest of the egg over and use a dish to flip it. Comes out great, but I'm grateful for the casserole version!

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