Puerto Rican Piononos
When you want the flavors of sweet plantain, savory beef picadillo and cheese, trying making Puerto Rican Piononos. These bite sizes treats are a cute cousin to the Pastelon, that are shaped like cupcakes. They are fried and then bake until perfectly firm.
Equipment
- cupcake baking sheet/molds
Ingredients
- 1 cup homemade beef picadillo recipe in the text
- 3 large sweet plantains the riper, the better
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese optional
- fresh cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Begin, by peeling and slicing the sweet plantains. Slice each plantain horizontally into thin strips. One large plantain should yield 4-5 strips.
- In a shallow fry pan with hot oil, fry the plantains for 4 minutes on each side. Color should resemble a golden, caramel color.
- Remove plantains from oil and cool on a plate lined with paper towel sheets.
- Grab a cupcake baking pan and wrap the plantain strips around individual cupcake molds. Tear a small piece of plantain and press into each cupcake mold. This small piece with act as a base.
- Next fill each mold with the cooked beef picadillo. Generously fill each cup to the rim.
- In a small bowl, beat eggs and then pour a small amount of the mixture over each plantain cup. Allow the egg mixture to soak in. This will bind the pionono together as one solid cup.
- Top each pionono will a sprinkle of cheese (optional) and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Serve with a garnish of cilantro and enjoy!