Honeyed Words: La Bandera - A Main Dish Inspired by "In the Time of the Butterflies"

La Bandera - A Main Dish Inspired by "In the Time of the Butterflies" - Part 1 · 21 February 2007

Since In the Time of the Butterflies focuses heavily on Dominican nationalism, I looked into traditional foods of the Dominican Republic. Two recipes were mentioned over and over, Sanocho and La Bandera. Sanocho is considered the current national dish, and is the local take on the Spanish influenced meaty stew. La Bandera is an offering of many common and traditional foods, and is described as a staple of the Dominican people.

I thought that La Bandera was more appropriate to the feeling of the novel. The Mirabel sisters fought in support of the country, and while Sanocho is the national dish of the current day, the sisters were fighting against the nationalistic movement of their current day. That being said, Sonocho also looks delicious, and if you’re interested in trying it out there is a detailed recipe here.

Image of the flag of the Dominican Republic La Bandera is a dish composed of four distinct parts: fried plantains, red beans, stewed meat, and rice, and is commonly arranged on the serving plate to represent the parts of the Dominican flag (bandera in Spanish). It is sometimes served with a salad or vegetables on the side.

A four part meal is a lot to cook for a small group of people, so I elected to spend two days cooking and eating this dish. On the first evening, I made the red beans and the plantains. My recipe was mainly adapted from The Punta Cana Information Guide.

Plantains in Their Skins

Picture of Plantains

Many sites referenced the plantains in this dish being used as a staple food, similar to how potatoes are used in North America. As such, I elected to purchase plantains on the less ripe, greener, side of the spectrum. Plantains start out firm, starchy, and have a very neutral flavor, much like the potato. As they ripen, they soften, sweeten, and begin to resemble the flavor of the banana more than that of the potato.

The method I used yielded a very pleasant dish that resembled mild sweet potato fries. I prepared the plantains anticipating that I would not add salt to them, but after tasting the finished product both salted and un-salted, I prefer the salted version. The salt brought a depth to the flavor of the plantain that turned this portion of the dish from a staple into a side in its own right. If I were to make the plantains again, I would experiment with soaking them in a bath of salt water prior to frying them in order to infuse the plantain with the salt flavoring.

Fried Plantains:

Semi-Ripe plantains
Vegetable oil for frying (I used Canola oil. Extra virgin oil olive oil has a strong olive oil flavor which I wanted to avoid adding to the plantains. Light olive oil is designed to have less of the classic olive oil color and fragrance and would be suitable for frying.)
Salt

Method:

Slice plantains into pieces of uniform thickness, approximately ¼”. I made a potato inspired decision on the slicing of the plantains and cut them to resemble French fries. The plantains can also be sliced into disks.

Heat oil in pan.

Dip plantains into bath of salt water and leave immersed for approximately one minute. Remove and pat dry. (Optional).

Add plantain pieces to heated oil for approximately one minute, then flip and cook another minute or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with salt while warm (optional but recommended if plantains were not dipped in salt bath).

Red Beans and Plantains

Picture of Cooked Red Beans and Fried Plantains

Red Beans:

2 -3 cups of pre-cooked red kidney beans
1 red onion finely chopped
1 - 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil, which is not strictly traditional but still good for you.)
3 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
½ tsp coriander
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Add the vegetable oil and onions to a medium pot and cook over medium heat until the onions caramelize.

Add garlic and coriander and sauté for a couple minutes

Drain beans if purchased in a can, then add beans, chicken or vegetable stock, and tomato paste and stir until well mixed

Reduce heat and simmer until the majority of the liquid evaporates, about 20-30 minutes, and the sauce reaches a creamy consistency. If desired, beans can be mashed with a potato masher for a more uniform consistency.

Searchable keywords/ Technorati tags: Dominican Food, French Fries, Plantains, Red Beans, Vegetarian