We had the pleasure of having a lovely woman stay in our cottage for a week.  Through our conversations I discovered she was a chef on a private yacht, which was docked in San Diego during the time she spent here in Ashland.  The yacht travels the world at different intervals and Cat told me she tries to cook, for the owner of the yacht, a selection of local dishes whenever she can.  When I talked to her about the blog, she offered to share the following recipe.

Sango

Shared by:  Chef Catriona

As a chef on a yacht I try to incorporate a few local dishes from every country we visit. In the Galapagos I spent the day working in a local restaurant to get an understanding of the local dishes served in Galapagos.

Galapagos Islands – photo credit: www.listofwonders.com

While they were all delicious, I caught one of the girls in the kitchen making something for the staff meal that caught my interest – a dish called Sango. It is a plantain based stew that is rarely served in restaurants but I think it is just delicious and unlike any other plantain dish I know. The version I was shown contains fish and shellfish, but I was told you can add any kind of meat you like and it is served with rice.

serves 6-8:

4 green plantains
5 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
1 1/2 large onions – chopped into fine dice
1 large red pepper – chopped into fine dice
3 large ripe tomatoes – chopped into fine dice
2 tbsp achiote oil
2-3 tbsp ground cumin
1 lemon
1-2 tbsp Maggi sauce
5-7 cups of water (although I use homemade stock instead)
Cleaned calamari, cleaned prawns and large chunks of fresh tuna or mahi mahi – on average I work on about 12 pc mixed shellfish/fish per person
1 large handful of chopped cilantro to finish

In a large frying pan sautée off the onions in the Achiote oil, when the onions are translucent add the garlic and leave to cook for a couple of minutes before adding the red peppers and cumin. Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until everything reduces a bit and you are left with a thick tomato sauce. Add the Maggi sauce and set to one side.

Peel the green plantains and cut them into 2-3 cm chunks. Pop the chopped plantain into a blender with enough water to cover it and blend until you have a smooth paste. You will probably have to do this in batches. Pour the blended plantain mix over the tomato mix and cook on a medium heat for about 15 -20 minutes. It needs to be stirred constantly and if it becomes too thick simply add more water to let it down. Once it has cooked out and you are happy with the thickness – it should have the consistency of a very thick stew as the liquid from the fish will thin it a little more – add seasoning to taste.

Then start adding fish/shellfish to your sango starting with the fish chunks as these will take the longest to cook, followed by the prawns and finally with the calamari. Finish by adding in the juice of half a lemon and a large handful of fresh copped cilantro. Serve with rice.

Sango Plantain Stew – photo credit: recetas.eluniverso.com  – Since Cat was traveling she did not have her photo file with her, but she found this photo and said it is very similar to how she serves the dish.

Cat’s recipe for Sango stew is part of our Recipes from the Road Collection.

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