This Puerto Rican inspired dish is usually made with pork, but goes great with our cubed venison meat. You can get achiote powder and seeds from Foodland or Don Quijote under the Mama Sita brand. For leaner meats like venison, you can made achiote oil by simmering 1 cup of lard or oil with a packet of seeds (1-2 tablespoons) for 5-10 minutes. This will add a beautiful red fat to the stew.

Servings: 3-4
Prep/cooking time: 1.5-2 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 pound cubed pork or venison

  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano

  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin

  • 1 small onion, diced

  • 1 green bell pepper, diced

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 Hawaiian chili pepper (optional)

  • 1 packet achiote powder

  • 1 cup bone broth

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1/2 can black olives, drained

  • 1/2 cup cilantro

  • 1 green cooking bananas

  • 2 tablespoons annatto seeds

  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Brown meat in saucepan over medium high heat in oil or lard. Two batches is recommended. Add salt and pepper. Once meat is brown, add onion and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes more.

  2. In a separate pot, add annatto seeds to bone broth and simmer covered 5-10 minutes. Strain out seeds and add liquid to meat.

  3. Next add in bell pepper, oregano, cumin, chili pepper, and tomato paste. Mix until well combined. Simmer on low heat until meat is fork tender (1-2 hours). Add in cilantro and olives.

  4. Green Banana (Masa): To remove skin from green banana you first need to make a few shallow cuts down the sides of the bananas just through the skin and then cover them with boiling water for 10 minutes. This will soften up the skin so you can remove it easily. Finely grate the banana and add it to the stew. This will act as a thickener.

  5. Cook for 10 more minutes. Garnish with cilantro. .

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