Guineítos en Escabeche (Pickled Green Bananas)
Tender green bananas marinated in olive oil and vinegar with onion, garlic, olives and bay leaf. A party classic.
Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.
Guineítos en escabeche are green bananas cooked until tender and soaked in a tangy marinade of olive oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, bay leaf and peppercorns. In Puerto Rico they show up at Christmas parties, birthdays and Sunday lunches, served cool or at room temperature next to the pernil, as a salad on their own or as a snack with toothpicks.
The Thermomix® TM7™ steams the banana pieces in the Varoma, then cooks the escabeche gently on reverse so the onion rings soften but keep their shape. Pour the warm escabeche over the bananas and let them rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours. They taste even better the next day.
Made in the Thermomix® TM7™
Guineítos en Escabeche (Pickled Green Bananas)
Makes: About 6 cups
- Prep25 min
- Cook40 min
- Total5 h 5 min
- Serves8
Ingredients
For the bananas
For the escabeche
Instructions
- Cut the ends off the bananas, make a lengthwise cut through the peel along one of the ridges and pry the peel off with your thumb. Green banana sap stains, so oil your hands lightly or wear gloves. Cut each banana into 4 cm (1 1/2 in) pieces.
- Pour the water into the mixing bowl. Place the banana pieces in the Varoma dish, put the Varoma in position and steam 25 min/Varoma/speed 1, until a knife slides easily into a piece. If they are still firm, steam 5 min/Varoma/speed 1 more. Set the Varoma aside and pour the water out of the bowl.
- Place the garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5.
- Add the olive oil, vinegar, onion rings, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt and cook 8 min/90°C (195°F)/reverse/speed soft, until the onion softens but keeps its shape. Stir in the olives with the spatula.
- Arrange the warm bananas in a glass dish or in clean glass jars and pour the hot escabeche over them, making sure every piece is covered. Let cool to room temperature.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight. Take them out 30 minutes before serving, because the olive oil firms up in the fridge.
Tips
- Use green bananas, sold as guineos verdes at Sedano's and Latin markets, not plantains. They should be hard and fully green, with no yellow at all.
- Keep the escabeche in closed glass jars in the fridge and eat it within 1 week. Garlic in oil should not sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- For more color, add 1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips to the bowl with the onion in step 4.
- Serve them as a side for pernil or roast chicken, or set them out with toothpicks as a party snack.
