Gretchen often asks me about recreating the Cuban bowl from Laughing Planet. The basic ingredients are brown rice, black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes and pico de gallo, and I always get the tempeh add-on. Usually when I make this at home it's because I have plantains that are about to go bad-- I like them sweet and so I wait til the last moment to use them up. They're not always available at my grocery store, either, so if I see them I usually buy them.
This particular incarnation got a fancy three-part treatment, a real work out for my sole non-stick frying pan. The first and second layers are straight forward: brown rice and fresh spinach. The next is tempeh that has been steamed, dredged in a little bit of egg-replacer slurry and then in seasoned (cumin, coriander, chile powder, chipotle powder, salt) store-bought gluten-free breadcrumbs, and fried.
On top of that we have fried sweet plantains, and then a layer of a quick sofrito (onions, garlic and bell peppers sauteed until soft and caramelized) and Trader Joe's incredibly handy canned Cuban-style black beans. Top with fresh cilantro, avocado, and your favorite salsa (I'm a sucker for anything with roasted tomatillo). Now that's a Cuban bowl!
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