It feels like I’ve made this dish thousands of times! However, one evening I decided to see if I could make a side dish to pair this with. Mashed potatoes, and pretty much any other popular side, didn’t quite match, that is, until I added the fried plantain pictured above! The difference is amazing!
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs shank or chuck roast, cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (1/2 lemon)
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 10 cloves garlic
- 1 big yellow onion, finely chopped
- 5 roma tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 packet Mazola tomato flavor or 1 tsp chicken flavor
- Bay leaves
- 2 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 potatoes, cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 pcs plantain, sliced thinly
- Olive oil
Directions:
- Marinate the beef in soy sauce, lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp pepper for two hours or overnight.
- In a pot, add 2 tbsp olive oil and saute the garlic and onion until soft.
- Add the beef (reserve the marinade) and saute until the meat is light brown.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.
- Add the tomato sauce, black pepper, tomato flavor, and bay leaves. Simmer for 2 hours until tender.
- Add the potatoes, carrots and water. Simmer until tender.
- Smash some of the potatoes to thicken the sauce. See the pictures at the end of the article.
- Stir and simmer for a few minutes.
- In a frying pan, add 2 tbsp oil. Fry the sliced plantain until golden brown.
- Serve the mechado with steamed rice and fried plantain. Enjoy!
Note:
Try to get plantains that are not too ripe so they won’t be soggy when fried.
