Ground Beef Plantain Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook and stir bacon and onions in medium saucepan on medium-high heat until bacon is crisp. Add ground beef and peppers; cook and stir until ground beef is evenly browned. Stir in next 6 ingredients; cover. Cook on low heat 15 min., stirring occasionally.
• Cook plantains in dressing in skillet on medium-high heat until each slice is evenly browned on both sides, turning once. Arrange 1/3 of the plantains on bottom of 13x9-inch pan sprayed with cooking spray; cover with half the meat mixture. Repeat layers; cover with remaining plantains. Whisk eggs and milk until blended; pour over ingredients in pan.
• Bake 45 min. or until center is set.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Grease the bottom and sides of 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the lasagna noodles at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 10 minutes; drain and set aside.
• Cook and stir ground beef, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a skillet over medium heat until the beef is completely browned, about 10 minutes.
• Stir canned tomatoes into ground beef; simmer until sauce has formed, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Pour about one-fourth of the sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Layer noodles on top of sauce.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce on top of noodles.
• Place a layer of eggplant slices on top of noodle and sauce layer.
• Sprinkle about one-fourth of the cheese on top of eggplant slices.
• Repeat layering with remaining ingredients, until ending with a layer of sauce topped with remaining cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven until cheese is bubbly and brown on top, about 40 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare the plantains: Line a sheet pan with paper towels; set aside. Cut off the ends of each plantain. With the tip of a knife, score plantains lengthwise and peel off the skin. Using a serrated knife or chef's knife, cut each plantain in half lengthwise, and then halve again lengthwise so you end up with 24 long slices. (If some of the slices break or are unevenly shaped, that's OK! Carry on.)
• In a large cast-iron or heavy skillet, heat 1 cup oil over medium-high to between 350 and 375 degrees. Working with 4 to 6 slices at a time, depending on what fits, fry plantains until deep golden brown, turning halfway through, about 6 minutes total. Transfer fried plantains to the prepared sheet pan and cook remaining plantains; set aside. (Let oil cool, then strain and reserve for another use.)
• Prepare the sofrito: Put onion, bell pepper, ají dulce chiles (if using), garlic, cilantro and culantro (if using), in a food processor; blend until it becomes a rough, wet purée. (You should have about 1 cup sofrito).
• Prepare the picadillo: In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium until it shimmers. Add the sofrito and cook, stirring often, until purée thickens and starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is evenly cooked and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Push meat mixture to one side, and carefully tilt skillet so that the fat from the meat collects at the bottom of the tilted pan; spoon off and discard as much of this excess fat as you can.
• Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes fall apart and the liquid starts to reduce, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in olives and raisins, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Picadillo can be made up to 2 days in advance. Rewarm it in a pan on the stove before proceeding with recipe.)
• Prepare the pastelón: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with butter. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Lay half the fried plantain slices along the bottom of the baking dish crosswise, piecing any broken pieces together to form an even layer. (If there are small gaps in the plantain layer, this is OK.) Top with half the picadillo (about 2 cups), smoothing it into an even layer, then sprinkle half the cheese on top in an even layer. Repeat with another layer of plantains then the remaining picadillo. Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the picadillo layer and spread it so it settles down into the pastelón. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake the pastelón until the egg is cooked, the cheese is melted and the layers are set, 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot.