Yellow Rice w/ Sausage and Shrimp + Sweet Plantains

I love one pot dishes, and this is a one pot dish that uses two of the pantry staples posted recently: Achiote and Sofrito.

I usually serve this as a main dish, but you can also cut the recipe in half and make 4 side servings.
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The key to this dish is to saute the sofrito long enough so its flavors develop...your nose will tell you when this happens :)

Yellow Rice with Sausage and Shrimp


4 tablespoons achiote oil or vegetable /olive oil
1/2 lb italian sausage, chorizo or vegetarian sausage, sliced
1 cup cleaned small shrimp, sliced in half

2 cups long grain rice

½ cup (6 cubes) sofrito, storebought or homemade

1 large ripe tomato, seeded & diced
½ cup frozen or fresh green peas
1-2 tablespoons capers
6-8 stuffed olives, sliced
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3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable stock
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1 tablespoon achiote spice or 1 culantro / annatto seasoning packet
3 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp oregano





In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, brown the sausage pieces then set aside. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and reduce the heat to medium.



Saute the crushed garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add in the sofrito and allow it to cook until fragrant as well, but be careful not to burn it. Lower the heat a bit if you need to. (The sofrito will actually pick up some of the browned bits leftover from the sausage... so will the stock later on)



Quickly rinse and drain the rice, then add it to the pot. Cook it with the sofrito for about two minutes, then stir in the stock, and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
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Next, add in the sausage and the remaining ingredients except for the shrimp. Turn the heat up and bring the rice to a boil.



Once it reaches a noticeable boil, stir in the shrimp. Cover the pot and turn the heat back down to medium / medium low, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes.
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Finally, remove from heat and let sit covered for 10 minutes or until ready to serve.
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Plantains

green, turning & yellow: each stage has a different use

One of my favorite side dishes to any meal is a batch of fried sweet plantains. Plantains look similar to bananas, but usually are larger and have a thicker skin. They are also starchier than regular bananas and must be eaten cooked. Frying, boiling, and roasting are the methods of choice. They're also tasty mashed like potatoes :)



When making fried sweet plantains, look for a plantain that ranges in color from yellow with black streaks to almost fully black. The blacker the plantain, the sweeter it'll be...but if it's completely black, it's too mushy and overripe for frying in slices.

If you're not used to using plantain, it can be weird buying something that looks like it's going rotten, but trust me...they're really good when they look that way!


Fried Sweet Plantain

3 ripe yellow plantains

Oil for frying

Serves 4

Peel and slice the plantains. Pour about 1/4 inch of oil into a heavy skillet and heat over medium to medium-high heat, depending on your stove. Prepare a plate lined with paper towels or brown paper for draining.

Once the oil is hot, fry the plantain slices in batches until golden brown and caramelized, turning once.

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Drain on the paper towels and serve. Enjoy!