Cuban Style “Arroz Con Frijoles” with Mojo and Crispy Plantains

Ingredients

Preparation

1. The day before: Toast one quart on blanched, raw almonds at 350°F for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Once cool, transfer the almonds to a container and add two quarts of filtered water in the container and allow the almonds to soak overnight.
2. On the day of: Begin preparing the almond "beans" in sofrito as they will need some time to cook. In a braising pan or sauce pot, add bacon fat and render. Add garlic and sauté until golden brown.
3. Once the garlic has color, add the onion and peppers to stop caramelization of the garlic. Sweat the onion and peppers until soft and tender.
4. Add the cumin to release the fragrance before adding the tomato paste and sauté until the tomato paste has incorporated with the rest of the sofrito.
5. Add the soaked almonds to the pot and begin to sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bay leaves, salt and bring to a boil.
6. Once to a boil, cover the pot and reduce to a simmer. Transfer the beans to a 350°F oven and cook for 5-6 hours until the almond "beans" are soft and tender. Remove from heat but keep the pot covered.
7. While the almond "beans" are cooking, prepare the plantains. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skins from the green plantains. They will be much more difficult to peel than a banana.
8. Once peeled, cut in half length-wise to split into two halves. Using a mandolin, slice 1/8" thick and slice length-wise to make long strips of crispy plantains.
9. After slicing, allow the plantains to be soaked in cold water to help remove excess starch. This can be done the day before and held in the fridge.
10. After the plantains have been removed from the water, strain the best you can and season lightly with salt and set aside.
11. Prepare a pot of vegetable oil and bring the temperature to 325°F for frying. Fry 3-5 pieces a time until golden brown and strain over a stack of paper towels to absorb excess oil. Season with salt immediately. Hold aside until rice is ready to serve.
12. Begin to prepare the rice. Add the rice, almond soaking water, any additional water needed, salt and almond oil. Bring the rice to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook covered for 13 minutes. Once water has been absorbed, fluff the rice with a fork and keep covered off the heat.
13. Prepare the mojo sauce by adding all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Transfer to a serving dish for the table.
14. Coarsely chop cilantro to garnish over the rice and almonds "beans".
15. To serve, scoop rice onto a large platter and top with almond "beans" with sofrito. Make sure to scoop some of the cooking liquid over the rice as well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve alongside the plantain chips and mojo sauce.

Notes