Easy Recipe: Guineos En Escabeche (Sabroso Saturday)

When I was pregnant with my son, I didn’t get too many cravings but when I did, let me tell you, they were very strong. They were so strong that it was all I thought about.

I wasn’t that “crazy” pregnant woman that would send her husband to the store at 3 in the morning to get chocolate or whatever the craving was. I was patient, in a way.  I did drink milk every single day because that was one of the things I craved and it was not because it was good for me or the baby.

The one thing that I could not make myself and crave almost  every week was my mother-in-law’s Guineos En Escabeche (pronounced es-kah-BECH-ay) recipe. It’s a very authentic Puerto Rican dish. Guineos is Spanish for green bananas and the Escabeche is basically an acidic marinade which is onions marinated in vinegar.

She made it when I was 5 months pregnant and I was hooked even after I gave birth.  She made it for me constantly because she said she didn’t want  a sty in her eye (an old wives tale if you deny a pregnant women anything she wants).  And so I was one happy preggo!

Below is the recipe I found that is very similar to the one she makes and I’m sharing it with you all.  It goes well with a side of arroz con gandules (rice & pigeon peas) and pernil (garlicky-seasoned pork shoulder). Yum!

ENJOY!

Guineos en Escabeche


Ingredients

2 lbs. green cooking bananas – about 10 green bananas (Not green platains – there’s a difference!)
1 to 1 1/2 lbs. onions sliced into thin rings
1 cup white vinegar
3 to 4 cloves crushed garlic
10 to 12 olives
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 to 12 whole black pepper corns
3 to 4 bay leaves
2-3 cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 quarts of water (for the Guineos)
*Note: You can also add chicken gizzards if you like. I omit that because I don’t care for it.

Directions

Cut the banana with a knife by cutting off the ends of the bananas and making a cut along the outside curves of the banana skins, but do not remove the skins.

Place the bananas in boiling water and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 teaspoons of oil to make them peel easier. Boil the bananas for approximately 20 minutes on medium-low heat. If you boil them too long they will come apart.

While the bananas cook, make the Escabeche sauce by placing all the rest of the ingredients into a pot. Stir them well and place on medium heat until the mixture gets hot. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the onions are soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.

The bananas are done when you lightly stab them with a toothpick or a fork until tender but firm. Peel off the skins and cut the bananas in 1 inch size rounds and put them in a glass bowl. Add the sauce to the bananas. Stir and mix well. Cover them and marinade them for at least 24 hours in the fridge.

Buen Provecho!

For more tasty recipes, please visit Latina on a mission.com.

Comments

  1. I love escabeche. I didn;t know you could makeit with green plantains. I might have to try it.
    Carolyn G recently posted..WINNER! Zhu Zhu Pet!

  2. A new way to eat plantains and it’s healthier. I love it.

  3. For years it seemed like guineos en escabeche was some secret mystery thing. Thanks for making it simple! I might even make it one day (need guests, because this looks like a lot for me & my daughter)
    Ofelia recently posted..Lori’s Abuela’s Coquito – Sabroso Saturday

  4. Wow, what a tasty looking dish! I’d love to give this one a try, I’ve never cooked with green bananas before.
    Micaela Vega @strivingbean recently posted..Thanksgiving Sesame Green Beans

  5. wowww this looks spectacular!! I never tried it before, thanks for share tis recipe with us!!

  6. My mouth is watering! I love escabeche! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂

  7. Hey ! is my first time. I knew it was a simple recipe. I was craving this dish this year. Feliz Navidad y Prospero ano nuevo!!

  8. Loved this! If I were to change anything in the future, I would fire roast the onions for a little extra flavor kick. Also, chicken breast can be used as I am not a fan of gizzards. Thanks for sharing! This is going into my private book!

  9. Just wondering are you useing the regular bananas that eventually turn sweet yellow or when you say green bananas are you taking about the green plantains?

    • They need to be green plantains. Eventually the green plantains will turn into the sweet plantains but you’ll know when they start to get sweet bc they will be yellow with black spots. They get sweeter as they get older but not too much. You don’t want them to get moldy.:)

  10. Just clarifying, these are green cooking bananas and not plantains?

  11. we are giving a Puerto Rican picnic for the youth in our church before they leave on a mission trip to Puerto Rico. I am making Guineos En Escabeche for the first time. Excited. Hoping it will be a hit with the group and maybe enlighten our youth to other ethnic cuisine. Will let you know if I am going to be requested to make this again for other functions. Was easy, once I found the guineos, LOL. Went to a local Latin grocery store. I am not sure if I cooked the guineos long enough. I did as receipt directed but they feel firm but toothpick went in and came out smoothly, a few still seem a bit more “undone” in the very middle–when I bit into them to “experience” the flavor and texture.

  12. do you know anything about the Cuban dessert turrón? If so can you give me some input? I cooked the mixture for the 10 minutes. I do not feel that it was ready to take off heat as it was not pulling away from sides and beginning to “clump” as directions indicated it would. I finished following through the receipt but the hot mixture did not firm up after sitting to room temp. I put it in the freezer hoping to be able to salvage it. I am wondering if I put it back into a the lg sauce pan and heated again to a more obvious point of “pulling away & clumping” if that will produce effect of “setting” that I need. thanks

  13. Many years ago I tried this at my friends house. I loved it. Have not been able to find the recipe. Thank you so much. I am going to give it a go.

  14. How mush gizzard do u use?

  15. This sound great but I’m I still need clarification. Do you use Green Bananas or Green Plantains (Macho)

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