I Mofongo'd

I recently was in Puerto Rico for an academic conference. It was beautiful, warm, green, lush, and economically depressed. While they are a part of the US, they are considered OCONUS (outside the continental US) for per diem reasons. Anywho, they had amazing food. Tacos, burritos, ....that's Mexican hombre. We're talking about afro/spanish/taino food. Plantains are a staple here. Have you ever even had one? They look like monster bananas but are more starchy and potato like than their little yellow cousins. One dish I loved there was "Mofongo." It can be served several different ways, but it always consists of a mashed plantain bowl/mound, meat, and a sauce. Since I returned, I have been experimenting with plantains in order to Mofongo (here used as a verb) myself. Let's Mofongo!

Here are some things you'll need:

Cilantro, garlic, bacon, spices, vinegar, green onions, poblano pepper, and plantains! (not pictured bouillon)

First we need to make a sauce. First roast that garlic in the oven for a while. Mash it up in some chicken broth to get things going.

Then add some onions, chipotle and adobo spices, some of that white wine vinegar, and go ahead and throw in some bacon grease you've been storing in the fridge. When the sauce has simmered for a while, sprinkle in some chopped cilantro and poblano pepper.

Now let's get ready to boil our plantains. On the island they deep fry them and then fry them again. We're skipping that first part. Here are 4 green plantains, 2 of which I have let sit out for two weeks and they have gotten much more yellow and soft.

So I boiled the green ones for 15 minutes or so and the yellow ones for 5. Heres what happened when I took them out.

The peels are splitting off and the plantains have gotten softer. The color difference between the older and younger plantains is obvious. Now chop them up and toss them in a cast iron skillet.

In this skillet you've left a whole bunch of bacon drippings! Oh no! Well, just go ahead and cook the plantains in the bacon fat. We'll survive.

Cook them for 5 minutes...maybe longer. I don't know. Start mashing them eventually. The starch will absorb the fat.

Now toss in green onions and bacon that you've chopped up. Mix it all up. If the mixture seems too dry to make into a mold, add a bit of water and vinegar.

Use your favorite double-old fashioned glass to serve as a negative for your mold. We're almost at mofongo! You want a solid structure to hold all the sauce we'll add.

Next add some roast pork that you've already painstakingly prepared and then crisped in the oven. Put this in the bowl we've created.

Now add the sauce, serve with beans, and toss on some bonus cilantro cuz we can.

This was pretty awesome for my first mofongo. The plantain bowl absorbs the liquid and all of its flavor. The yellowed plantains added a sweetness to this mofongo that I had not experienced in Puerto Rico. I liked it. This is definitely a must add player in my distressed peoples cookbook.