Oven-On’s La Canoa
In one of my favorite Dan Jenkins novels, a wildly successful pro golfer is thinking about the joys of simple comfort food back in his Texas hometown. There were many nights, he reflects, sitting in exorbitantly priced restaurants in Manhattan or L.A., where he knew he’d drop several hundred dollars on a meal and nothing he’d eat would be near as good as one of his favorite home cooking joints back in Fort Worth.
Well, I’m not wildly or even marginally successful, but I know what the character meant. That’s why, in 2021, I named the tiny Oven-On Mexican Bakery in New London one of my favorite restaurants of the year. Trust me, whether it’s the baked goods and pastries or the authentic Mexican recipes — all marvelously and freshly prepared — Oven-On is magnificent.
One of my favorites of their dishes is La Canoa, which I described in my original review of the place as “a devilishly clever idea wherein a half of a fried plantain serves as the canoe for a cargo load of savory ground beef and a tarp of melted cheese.” It’s wonderful.
The truly kind folks at Oven-On shared the recipe.
— Rick Koster
La Canoa Ground beef mixture
2 lbs ground beef
2 teaspoons garlic
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped red pepper
1 pinch Sazon (seasoning found in Puerto Rican or Mexican markets)
1 pinch cumin
1 pinch black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
1 cup tomato paste
Directions
Put ground beef in a skillet and brown. Break meat apart with spatula. Add the other ingredients except for tomato paste and mix well. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes, covered. Drain excess grease, then add tomato paste, stir well and cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
For the plantain “canoes”
Cut the ends off 8 plantains, about 2 inches from either end. Score each plantain with a knife down the middle and peel skin off. Do not cut through the plantains. Place plantains in a skillet with light oil and deep fry until the fruit is golden brown on all surfaces.
Remove the plantains, place on paper towel, then cut down the middle and butterfly to form sort of a canoe. Add shredded Monterey Jack cheese, top with a healthy layer of the ground beef mixture, then add more cheese. Now. Feast!