Pabellón Criollo

About This Recipe

Pabellón criollo is to Venezuela what ropa vieja is to Cuba — the national comfort food, eaten at every meal, made in every home. The name 'pabellón' refers to a flag or banner, and the dish is sometimes described as representing Venezuela's cultural roots: the black beans for the African heritage, the white rice for the Spanish colonial era and the yellow plantains for the indigenous peoples. The fourth component, shredded beef (carne mechada), ties everything together. Each element is prepared separately and arranged side by side on the plate in colourful stripes — a deliberate presentation that makes the dish as visually striking as it is delicious.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 600 gbeef flank steak(for carne mechada)
• 400 gdried black beans (caraotas)(soaked overnight, or 2 × 400g cans)
• 400 glong-grain white rice
• 2 largeripe (black-skinned) plantains(peeled and sliced diagonally)
• 2 mediumtomatoes(finely diced)
• 1 largewhite onion(finely diced)
• 1 largered capsicum (pepper)(finely diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 4 tablespoonsvegetable oil
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonsugar(for the black beans)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook and shred the beef (carne mechada)

   Place the flank steak in a pot with half the diced onion, 2 smashed garlic cloves, a bay leaf and cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer for 60–70 minutes until very tender. Remove and cool slightly, reserving 250 ml cooking liquid. Shred the beef into long fibres with two forks.

2. 2

   Season the shredded beef

   In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Sauté the remaining diced onion, capsicum and garlic for 8 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the shredded beef, cumin and a splash of the reserved broth. Cook, stirring, for 5–8 minutes until the mixture is fragrant and the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt.

3. 3

   Cook the black beans

   If using dried beans, cook the soaked beans in fresh water for 45–60 minutes until tender. In a separate pan, sauté a little diced onion and garlic in oil, add the cooked (or canned) beans with their liquid and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with cumin, salt and sugar. Mash a few beans against the side of the pan to create a slightly creamy consistency.

   The traditional Venezuelan caraotas are cooked with a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of papelón (raw cane sugar) for a characteristic sweet-savoury flavour.

4. 4

   Cook the rice and fry the plantains

   Cook the rice using the absorption method (2:1 water to rice) until fluffy and separate. In a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, fry the plantain slices for 2–3 minutes per side until golden-brown and caramelised. The plantains should be very ripe (almost black skin) for sweetness.

5. 5

   Assemble and serve

   On each plate, arrange neat, separate mounds of white rice, black beans, carne mechada and fried plantain in stripes side by side. Each element should be presented distinctly — do not mix them. Allow diners to combine them to their taste.

Variations

• •

  A fried egg on top of the pabellón makes it 'pabellón con barandas' — with railings — a popular weekend version.

• •

  Some families add white crumbled queso blanco over the finished plate.

Storage

Store each component separately in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat individually; the plantains are best re-fried briefly in a pan.

Frequently Asked Questions