Mofongo!

It might have been because I was hungry, but I thought one of the coolest things that our substitute profesora shared with us was her favorite dish from Puerto Rico. It’s called mofongo (fried plantains) and it’s pretty much a mashed mound of plantains into which a combination of seafood, meat, or vegetables is added. My mom’s side of the family is from the Philippines and they eat a very similar dish which is fried plantains (or saba). Sometimes they dust it with brown sugar or they just eat it fried—it’s delicious!

After doing a little research, I found that Puerto Rican foods have their roots in Spanish and West African cuisines. Anyways, mofongo sounded very appetizing, so I looked up the recipe for anyone who is interested.

Ingredients:

(Plaintains with Pork Rinds)
3 green plaintains
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 lb. Crisp fried pork rinds
4 cups water
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon olive oil
Optional: fried bacon, lard or vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Peel plaintains. Cut into one inch slices. Soak for 15 minutes in salt and water. Drain well.

2. Heat fat or oil(350 degrees if you are using a deep fryer). Add plaintain slices and fry for 15 minutes but do not brown. Drain on paper towel.

3. In a mortar(for pounding), crush garlic cloves and sprinkle with salt, add olive oil to the mixture and keep pounding.

4. Crush a portion of the fried plaintains slices and the pork. Add some of the garlic and olive oil mixture and keep pounding.

5. Spoon the mixture and shape into two inch balls. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you use all the ingredients.

6.Place in oven pan and keep warm until you are ready to serve.
Suggestions: Prepare chicken broth and pour over mofongo, so it will be juicy. Enjoy