Creamy Plantain and Squash Ground Beef Mash
I know what you’re thinking.
It’s probably something along the lines of “Ewwww, bananas and ground beef? Gross!”
But hear me out, please.
I know that this is a very strange combination and I would’ve NEVER thought of it myself, had I not seen it with my own two eyes and tasted it with my own thousands of taste buds during my recent stay in Cuba.
Indeed, on my first day there, as I was checking out my protein options at the lunch buffet, I spotted this very yummy looking, super creamy ground beef dish. It had a little bit of a light orange-y color to it, so I figured it was probably mixed with some kind of calabaza, which is surprisingly very popular there. At pretty much every meal, there will be offerings of steamed or baked pumpkin or other members of the squash family.
So with a very eager tummy and anticipating taste buds, I grabbed a serving spoon and proceeded to scoop some of this delicious looking concoction onto my plate.
That’s when I noticed little bits of something lighter in color throughout the meat, like a light, creamy yellow…
Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were chunks of “plátano”.
I was like “WHAT? They actually mixed plantain with ground beef? Surely they used the greener than green individuals, so they will have no sweetness to them whatsoever!”
Still, my initial taste test was conducted with a lot of caution. I really wasn’t certain that this was going to work for me.
Well, let me tell ya, I was in for a surprise. No, make that 2 surprises.
Surprise #1: The plátano they used was NOT of the green variety. It must have been very yellow indeed. Perhaps not black, but definitely very ripe, and definitely sweet!
Surprise #2: It was absolutely delicious. By some kind of strange wizardry, the combination actually worked. Not only did it work, it was absolutely DELICIOUS! I was looking forward to having more of this fabulous discovery every following day for the rest of my stay.
Unfortunately, I was in for a major deception: this dish never again made it to the buffet table.
All week I crossed my fingers that it would eventually make an appearance, to no avail. Looks like it was gone for good. If I was going to ever have some again, I’d have to make it myself.
For days, I thought of asking Raoul, the chef, for the recipe but seeing as how his Ingles is as good as my Español, I figured I wouldn’t understand anyway, so I might as well come up with my own personal rendition.
While I can’t say that I have completely nailed it, I think I came up with something that is fairly close, still.
You are looking at a meat dish that is super creamy and warm and comforting and sweet enough that it can be enjoyed any time of day. Just like a good bowl of oatmeal, it’ll start your day oh so right but it also has the potential to end it as spectacularly as a good ole Chicken Pot Pie would.
For me, this is definitely a winner: an exotic yet comforting dish that will now bid me good day before I head out for work on a regular basis.
So, what say you? Will you dare try it?
Creamy Plantain and Squash Ground Beef Mash
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
- ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- 450 g 1lb grass-fed lean ground beef
- 1 dried birds eye chili pepper, chopped
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- ¼ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- 1 yellow plantain, sliced
- 1 cup pureed buttercup squash
- 1½ cup water
Instructions
- Add ground beef, chili pepper, cinnamon and allspice and continue cooking until the beef is no longer pink.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard and coconut aminos, then add the plantain and continue cooking until it becomes really soft and only a few visible pieces remain. It might help to smoosh it with your spoon to better break it down.
- Add squash puree and water and continue cooking until well combined, creamy and heated through.
- Serve piping hot
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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29 Comments on “Creamy Plantain and Squash Ground Beef Mash”
Are you kidding!!??? I’m from Puerto Rico we loooove plaintains. You should have a pastelon de amarillos. Which is kinda like a lasagna but instead of pasta we use plaintains, fill it with the ground beef and on top tons of cheese. I never have tried the plaintains with the squash before but I will give it a try. Must be delicious!!!! Thanks!!!!
Oh my goodness, pastelon de amarillos looks absolutely amazing! I ABSOLUTELY have to try this, and the sooner the better! Thank you so much for the tip! 🙂
I love dishes that combine savory and sweet – this looks amazing! I made a fritter recently using plantains and chorizo which is another great combo. Loving all of these ground beef ideas that you’ve been coming up with lately! Can’t wait to try this one out myself!
Plantains and chorizo sure do sound like an amazing combination to me! Did you post the recipe on your blog Mellissa? If you haven’t, I say you definitely should. I for one, would like that very much and would assuredly be making them! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this, and please keep the recipes coming!
Thank you much Jennifer and don’t you worry: I couldn’t stop the recipes from coming even if I wanted to! 😀
This sounds and looks really good! I’m going to have to try it, along with the pumpkin pie you posted not to long ago, once my current 21DSD is over.
Can you not have plantains while doing a 21DSD? I’m not all that familiar with the program, but I remember seeing much “worse” than plantains. I guess I really should check out that program and see what it’s all about. Who knows, I might be tempted to give it a try! 🙂
The only fruit allowed on the #21dsd is a green apple, green-tipped banana, or grapefruit. Diane Sanfilippo recommends just these once because they are not as sweet as other fruits.
Oh, I see. Ripe plantain would be fairly high in sugar, agreed. I think I would leave all fruit out if I were to do a 21DSD. I might very well give that one a try after the Holidays. And follow up with another round of Whole30…
I’m not a big fan of plantains but I’m fairly certain that I would love ’em paired with ground beef.
And it’s such a great thing to get inspired by other culinary tradition, there’s so much to learn!
Funny, I wasn’t big on plantain either before I started travelling to Cuba. They serve it at pretty much every meal there, so I really learned to love it, and I do mean LOVE it. I only wish it wasn’t SO high in carbs… For that reason, I only indulge once in a while. If it wasn’t for that, I think you’d see plantain in about half my recipes! 😉
And I am right with you on getting inspired by other culinary traditions. I sure am glad the Cubans opened my eyes to the combination of ground beef and plantain! I hope you do give it a try, and if you do, please let me know how it worked for you. 🙂
Hi! I am excited to try this…love plantains! I have never heard of a bird’s eye chilli. Can I find this in a standard grocery store, or Whole Foods? If I can’t find it, is there a substitution? Thanks so much : )
Here they are available at pretty much every grocery store, but if you can’t find any, Dana, feel free to use any kind of hot chilis or even hot chili pepper flakes. And if you’re not a fan of heat, you can even completely omit!
Perfect! Thank you : )
I love this! I’m a huge fan of plantains — especially in savory applications — so this is right up my alley. As usual, thanks Sonia!
This dish is delicious! I ate it this morning for breakfast and am looking forward to the rest that I divided for future meals! Thank you for providing such wonderful recipes and informative content on your blog!
Oh, thank you so much for your kind words and great feedback, Kim. I truly appreciate your taking the time to do this, as I am happy to hear that you appreciated the dish as much as I did. 🙂
This looks wonderful! I am new to eating this type of food, could you please tell me what is coconut aminos and dried birds eye chili? Also, is the squash called a buttercup or butternut? Sorry for all the questions but this really sounds good and I can’t wait to try it. Thank you.
I added links to the products in the recipe, Kim, so you can check them out and easily get your hands on ’em! As for the squash, both butternut and buttercup exist. They’re two different varieties…
OMG!!! That was delicious! Wish we left some for tomorrow…..we gobbled it up….. Most of which was with a spoon at the stove!!!
HAHAHAH! Glad to hear you liked it THAT much, Lynn, and thanks a bunch for taking the time to let me know. I greatly appreciate that! 😀
Delicious recipe! Thank you so much. I’ve definitely been in a breakfast rut lately (resorting to spinach smoothies just to get it over with, ugh). This was PERFECT!
Happy to hear you liked it, Beth! And thank you for taking the time to let me know, too. I greatly appreciate that! 😀
Hi Sonia! This looks amazing! This is probably a silly question, but do you cook the squash before pureeing? and can i substitute a different squash? I couldn’t find buttercup. I think I got calabaza. Thanks!
Yes, you do need to cook it, and you could use any kind of squash you like. Well, save for summer squash and spaghetti squash, I guess… but other than that, go wild!
One more question! Do you drain the fat after the beef has cooked?
My ground beef is so lean there is hardly any fat to drain after it’s cooked, but if you find you have a lot at the bottom of your pan, then by all means, go ahead and drain it if you want.
Love the sounds of the recipe! Definitely going to cook this for dinner. Any suggestions on what to serve it with vege or salad wise?