What have you been up too? I am on a hunt.  A hunt for a house in Dallas. It’s amazing how hard it is to find a house without carpet.  Then sometimes I find one without carpet, but it has wood paneling or worse floral wallpaper.  Next week OB and I head down to Dallas to put boots on the ground for our hunt.  If we don’t find something in time we can always live in the camper….with 3 dogs.

We need to find a house.

Before I went on full house hunting mode my parents where here visiting.  I thought I would be hospitable and make them dinner.  Actually my mother told me she wanted me to make dinner.  Since I have always done what my mommy tells me I got right on it.

I wanted to make something homey, but with a little bit of special.  A few weeks back I had pinned  Beef Shin Stew with Parmesan Dumplings by Simply Delicious.  It gave me the idea to make ternera guisada con bolitas de platano or stewed veal with plantain dumplings.  Guisada is a tomato based stew, when served with a side of rice it’s the definition of homey, but add some plantain dumplings, and you will be transported to comfort food heaven.

Season the veal shanks with adobo and a little black pepper.  Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the veal shanks on each side until brown.  Transfer the shanks to plate and set aside.

Add onion, garlic and culantro or cilantro if you can’t find culantro.   Sauté until tender and fragrant, adding more olive oil if needed.

Add vinegar, wine, capers, olives, diced tomatoes and bay leaf.  Stir and bring to a boil.

Add diced carrots.  The carrots are one of my favorite parts because they become to tender and sweet in the stew.

Finally return the veal shanks to the pot.  Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the shanks halfway.  Sprinkle with fresh oregano.  Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

While the veal is in the oven you can make the plantain dumplings.  Peel 2 plantains and dice.

Add diced plantain, 2 cloves garlic and salt to a food processor and process until it begins to come together.

Shape the plantain into 12 equal sized balls.

After 1 hour pull the veal from the oven.  Place dumplings on top of veal, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

When finished the dumplings will resemble meatballs, give the veal a poke to make sure it’s tender.

Serve up with some white rice and sautéed greens if you feel like it.  Puerto Rican food trends to be starch on starch with protein.  If you feel a need for some veggies you can always sauté up some greens.  Oh, and don’t forget a generous wedge of avocado with a sprinkle of salt. It makes it kind of amazing.

I made everyone a plate, served with a cold malta.  OB and my dad literally cleaned their plates.  There wasn’t a grain of rice, morsel of meat or smear of sauce to be found on their plate.  They even dug out the marrow from the bone. This is osso buco criollo style and it’s awesome.

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Yield: 4

Ternera Guisada con Bolitas de Platano (Stewed Veal with Plantain Dumplings)

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Ingredients

Stew

• 4 veal shanks
• Goya adobo
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 6 leave culantro, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 8 olives
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• 3 carrots, diced
• leaves of 4 sprigs fresh oregano, minced
• [br]

Dumplings

• 2 plantains, peeled & diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt to taste

Instructions

Season the veal shanks with adobo and a little black pepper on both sides. Heat olive oil in an oven-safe heavy bottom pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the veal shanks on each side until brown. Transfer the shanks to plate and set aside.

Add onion, garlic and culantro or cilantro if you can't find culantro. Sauté until tender and fragrant, adding more olive oil if needed.

Add vinegar, wine, capers, olives, diced tomatoes, and bay leaf. Stir and bring to a boil. Add diced carrots.

Return the veal shanks to the pot. Make sure there is enough liquid to cover the shanks halfway. Sprinkle with fresh oregano. Bring to a boil, cover and transfer to the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

While the veal is in the oven you can make the plantain dumplings. Add diced plantain, 2 cloves garlic and salt to a food processor and process until it begins to come together. Shape the plantain into 12 equal sized balls.

After 1 hour remove the veal from the oven. Place dumplings on top of veal, cover and return to the oven for another 30 minutes.

Serve up with some white rice, a wedge of avocado and sautéed greens if you feel like it.

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