Bandeja Paisa (Colombian Platter with Beans, Beef & Chicharrón)

Name: Bandeja Paisa (Colombian Platter with Beans, Beef & Chicharrón)
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients: 2 (15 oz) cans red beans, undrained; 2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped; 4 scallions, finely chopped; ½ onion, finely chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 1 lb ground beef; ½ lb skin-on pork belly, in 1-inch strips; 1½ cups long-grain white rice; 6 large eggs; 2 very ripe plantains; 1 avocado, sliced; lime wedges; 2 tbsp oil; 2 tbsp oil for frying; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp paprika; salt; pepper

DinnerColombian90 minServes 6925 kcal35 g protein

Photo: Dtarazona · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Antioquia's legendary feast on one plate: hogao-simmered red beans, seasoned ground beef, crackling pork belly, white rice, a fried egg, sweet plantain and avocado.

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Ingredients

2 (15 oz) cans red beans, undrained
2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
4 scallions, finely chopped
½ onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb ground beef
½ lb skin-on pork belly, in 1-inch strips
1½ cups long-grain white rice
6 large eggs
2 very ripe plantains
1 avocado, sliced
lime wedges

From your pantry: 2 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp oil for frying, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, salt, pepper.

Instructions

Make the hogao: cook the tomatoes, scallions, onion and garlic in 1 tbsp oil over medium-low until jammy, 10 minutes. Put half in a pot with the beans, ½ cup water and the cumin and simmer 20 minutes until creamy. Start the rice.
Simmer the pork belly in salted water to cover for 20 minutes, drain and pat very dry. Fry it in a dry skillet over medium, turning, until the fat renders and the skin puffs and crackles, 15 to 20 minutes.
Brown the ground beef in 1 tbsp oil over high heat with the paprika, salt and pepper, breaking it into fine crumbs, until dry and toasty, 8 minutes. Stir in the rest of the hogao.
Slice the plantains on the diagonal and fry in the frying oil until caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Fry the eggs sunny side up in the same pan.
Build each platter with rice, beans, beef, chicharrón, a fried egg, plantain and avocado, with lime on the side.

Tip: Traditional bandeja uses carne en polvo (beef ground almost to powder), Colombian chorizo and an arepa too; add any you like. Prep the beans and hogao a day ahead.