Filipino Whole30 Eats: Arroz a la Cubana

The nomenclature for this one takes some twisty turns.

This recipe is based on a dish we call Arroz a la cubana (“Cuban-style” rice), except God knows if it really originated from Cuba, and anyway, our version is pretty distinct from the other dishes in the Spanish-speaking world also called by the same name. All the recipes have the eggs, rice, and plantains in common, sure, but ours has to have ground beef and everyone else’s has to be slathered in tomato sauce. They are different enough that ours is sometimes called “Filipino-style Arroz a la cubana,” which verges on the silly. We should have just called it a las filipinas and called it a day.

And then I go ahead and muck around with the recipe and remove the rice. (You could add cauliflower “rice,” as I myself have done before, but that’s still not rice.) So: a la cubana is a little off the mark, and now the arroz part doesn’t make sense, either – so what the heck do I call this?

Translations
Saging na saba (sah-ging nah sah-bah): sweet plantain, aka saba banana, also sometimes called cardaba banana

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced yellow sweet potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced red bell pepper
• (you can also add 1 oz. raisins)
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• salt and pepper
• 3 ripe saging na saba, peeled and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices
• coconut oil
• large eggs

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a pot in medium heat. Keep stirring until cooked through.
2. Add the onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, bell pepper, raisins, and tomato paste. Mix well, lower the heat, close the lid, and let simmer, stirring every now and then. Cook until the root crops are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. While the beef is simmering, fry the saging na saba slices in coconut oil until they are light brown on both sides. Then fry your eggs (1 or 2 eggs per person) sunny side up.
4. Arrange everything in your plates with the eggs lying atop the others. Break the egg yolk and let it bleed into the beef. Chow down.

Makes about 3 servings.

You can also make them into banana boats. What? You don’t play with your food?

How this is Whole30

No rice. Also, some noncompliant veggies that are typically part of this recipe – such as potatoes and green peas – were omitted. (Sweet potato, which is normally not included, took the place of the potatoes.)

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