Rellenitos

Rellenitos (makes 8)

Dough: 4 ripe plantains (make sure they are not too ripe) 2 cups water 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cinnamon stick

Wash plantains, cut them in 3, cook them with the rest of ingredients for 25 min. When cooked, mash with a potatoe masher to make the dough.

Sauce:

2 cups of cooked plain black beans (about 1 cup of beans and 1 cup of liquid) 1/2 cup sugar 1 teasp. ground cinnamon 1 tablesp. vanilla extract 1/2 teasp. ground allspice 1/4 teasp. salt

Puree black beans, and add to a saucepan, heat for a minute and then add the rest of ingredients, let it simmer for about 8 minutes or untill it gets thick as a sauce. Make balls (lilke croquettes) with the plantain dough, can use a little wheat flour in hands to help the mixture not to stick to much in hands. Make a whole with your finger in to the croquette and fill it with the black bean sauce, close it perfectly and fry them. Serve warm. Note: Relleno in spanish means filling, since these are plantain croquettes filled with sweet black beans, they are called "rellenitos" as the ending "ito" means little. "Little plantain croquettes filled with black beans".