Recipe: Arroz a la cubana (with fried banana) - salty and sweet

My housemates are never usually that keen on trying the food I cook, and seem especially put off when I use 'strange' ingredients. But they aren't strange combinations nor do they look bizarre, they just aren't used to certain smells and certain flavours, or things that don't have butter in them.

When I told them about arroz a la cubana with fried banana, their horror quickly became curiosity, which itself eventually became a desire to try it. Yesterday, on Sunday, Julie asked me in the kitchen why we hadn't cooked "that weird thing you make with rice and bananas" and taking advantage of what she had said and given that we had all the ingredients we got started before she could change her mind (her face was a picture, "oh god, what have I got myself in to... ").

This recipe is easy, quick and really filling. I've never had it for dinner and still been hungry afterwards, it fills you up good. I've written the method in the plural as we made it together, but all the ingredients are for one portion.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 packet of rice, the ones for just one person.
• 2 tablespoons of tomato puree.
• 1 banana.
• A tiny bit of flour.
• Oil and salt.

How to make it

Step 1

We filled a saucepan with boiling water and poured in the packet of rice. Ours needed 10 minutes to cook, but it will depend on what brand you bought. After the 10 minutes had passed, we drained the rice and put it to the side. The truth is, we did the other steps whilst the rice was cooking.

Step 2

We fried the egg in a pan with a little bit of oil. Julie cooked hers so that the yolk was still runny, but I prefer mine cooked more with a little 'puntillita' which is a crispy lining around the outside of the egg you get when you cook it for longer. I think it looks better and has more texture.

Step 3

Afterwards, we peeled the bananas and cut them vertically in half, then into 2 or 3 pieces (depending on the size of the banana). We put some flour on a plate then coated the bananas with it well and then put them in a pan with some oil.

Step 4

We left them for a bit, checking and turning them occasionally to make sure they were completely golden all over. When they are done you have to dry them by putting them on a piece of kitchen roll so that you get rid of all the excess oil.

Step 5

Now with everything done, you can plate up: firstly put on the rice, then a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce, followed by the egg, with the pieces of fried banana on either side. DONE!

Julie did her own and so did I. You can only see one in all the photos, but we just did it all twice.

Review

The terror in Julie's eyes changed to delight when she tried it and she realised it wasn't a strange mix of flavours whatsoever. Steph, who was also there, tried it too and realised as well that although her brain told her banana with tomatoes and rice shouldn't work, she couldn't help but like it. She liked it so much that she 'tried' it a couple of times. The sweetness of the banana and the saltiness of the egg was an almost addictive combination, even though to her it still seemed strange.

I mixed all mine together, like I do at home, and happily ate it all. Once I was finished, I was finished, I couldn't eat anymore. Julie also ate it all and said she really liked it, even though she had previously thought it was a weird combination and had never seen it before. These girls...

For the rice we used the packets with just one portion that you just chuck into some water and wait 10 minutes. They're usually used for making curries. I had seen them on the Spanish TV show "22 minutos" with Julius, but I'd never used them. They are amazing! Easy, cheap, and tasty. The rice was perfect and you can use them for any recipe.

I've met people that don't like this dish because it has fried fruit or warm fruit or simply because not everyone likes it in that way. But I love it: oven cooked, compote, fried, battered, you name it... it's like all the sugar comes out and gives it a different taste. Each to their own, I guess.

But once again, just in case you'd forgotten, this recipe is simple, easy and known all over the world. It's also cheap. Perhaps that's why I like it so much...

Laura

xxx