Taino canoas representative of Puerto Rico's culinary offerings

Javier A. Flores - Conexión

Web Posted: 01/28/2010 12:00 CST

Canoas is a Puerto Rican dish of whole fried plantains covered with ground beef and cheese. HELEN L. MONTOYA/hmontoya@conexionsa.com

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Recipe: Taino canoas

Ingredients
8 ripe plantains
2.5 cups cooked ground meat (typically beef)
Oil for frying
1/4 lb. grated cheddar cheese

Preparation
Peel the plantains carefully to make sure they do not break — whole plantains are needed. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven preheats, fry the plantains in enough oil to cover them. Be careful while handling so that plantains do not break. Remove from the oil when golden brown. Soak off excess oil by draining on paper towels. Slit each plantain lengthwise, about an inch from each end, half as deep as the plantain’s circumference. Place about two tablespoonfuls of the cooked ground meat filling inside the slit in each plantain. Place the plantains side by side in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle grated cheddar cheese over the filling. Bake in the oven for about ten minutes. Serves eight.

Source: www. elcolmadito.com

From their native island nestled in the Caribbean waters, tasty Taino canoas have made their way beyond Puerto Rico to land on the dinner tables of nearby Latin American countries including Cuba, Panama, and even the U.S.

Canoas, or canoes in English, were a popular means of transportation for Puerto Rico's early Taino natives. The canoes were created from hollowed out trees and believed by the natives to carry the spirits of the land. From this, the savory oblong delicacy gets its name.

Puerto Rican cuisine is a unique blend of Taino, European, African and U.S. influences and ingredients. Canoas still carries the spirit of all of these influences.

Plantains, which make up the base of this dish, were brought to the island from Africa by the Spanish colonists.

Beef, which is the typical meat filling used for canoas, was brought from Europe. U.S.-produced corn oil became popular for frying foods in Puerto Rico, replacing olive oil brought by early Spaniards and locally-produced lard. And, of course, the boat shape of the dish is representative of the Taino culture.

Documents of early Spanish explorers, according to www.elboricua.com, reported that each wooden canoe took at least two months for the natives to create. Luckily, its culinary tocayo is not as time-consuming to make.

Since visual presentation is important in this dish, the most difficult task in this recipe is keeping the plantains whole during the cooking process.

Culinary explorers can also find new ingredients to add to their favorite ground beef recipe to truly pack these canoas with loads of taste.