Makes 1 large 9/13 casserole dish
original recipe found here https://www.dominicancooking.c...
Ingredients
Filling:
3lbs of ground meat (I used pastured pork, but any ground meat will work)
2 TBSP of avocado oil
2 red onions
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 - 3 cups of tomato sauce
2 bell peppers, chopped finely
salt & pepper to taste
3 TBSP of chopped fresh cilantro (I love cilantro and added more!)
2-3 tsp of garlic powder
Plantain layer:
9 ripe plantains (some of mine with yellow, but not too soft and I had a few that were more green. It seemed to work well regardless)
2-3 tsp of salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup of olive oil
Instructions:
1. We will make the filling first, similar to making a spaghetti meat sauce.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil, then add the peppers
3. Add the ground meat to the pan and brown
4. Add salt, pepper and cilantro to season
5. When the meat is browned, add the sauce and stir and let thicken a bit, about 5-10 minutes
6. While you are making the sauce, you can have the plaintains cooking in the background.
7. Peel the plaintain and chop each one into 4 or so pieces.
8. Boil the plantains in water until very soft (test with a fork or knife) and are of the texture that you could easily mash.
9. Drain the water and mash the plantains with a potato masher, add salt and olive oil to the mixture and mash until creamy (similar to how you would mash potatoes)
10. Line a casserole dish with parchment paper.
11. Take half of the plantain mixture and spread across the bottom, then layer half of the meat sauce on top. Then layer the remaining plantain mixture on top of that. The final layer is the rest of the meat sauce. If you tolerate dairy, an optional sprinkle of grass fed cheese or goat cheese gives this casserole a lasagna feel to it. If you can't do dairy, try crushed cashews sprinkled on top for a nice finishing layer.
Posted April 19, 2026
