Ingredients
lard
medium yellow onion, chopped fine
large clove garlic, minced
(I actually use much more than this, but don’t want to scare people off)
2-3 slices of good thick bacon, chopped
a little Mexican oregano
1 chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce)
1 cup pardina lentils
large tomato, chopped, or 8 oz. canned chopped tomato
6 cups water
plantain
hard boiled egg
Melt a couple of tablespoons lard over medium heat in medium dutch oven. Cook onions and garlic until translucent, 5-10 minutes. Add bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Add tsp. or so of Mexican oregano and stir. Add mashed up pepper and cook for a minute or so. Stir in lentils and cook for a minute. Add tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Turn to a steady simmer, and cook until tender, 30-40 minutes. Taste and season. Slice plantain lengthwise and fry in lard or oil. Add a couple of slices to each bowl as garnish. Also, add a few slices of hard boiled egg as garnish.
Eat by the seaside if possible.
Note:
Even though lard is the best tasting fat for this dish, some of you will probably shy away. Olive oil is fine. Make sure the lard you get is relatively fresh. The stuff you can get in grocery freezer section is probably rancid. The best thing is to buy some pork fat from your butcher and render some yourself.
Mexican oregano is more flavorful than regular oregano and worth looking for.
Careful with the chipotle peppers. The point here is not to sear anyone’s taste buds, but add just enough heat to draw out the flavor of the lentils.