Meatless Mofongo
I had another couple of days where I didn't sleep for 35+ hours...in the freelance writing world, it seems, it's either feast or famine.
Toward the 30th hour, I was keeping my mind alive by watching the Food Network while I worked on a project. It was just background noise, really, but suddenly I noticed that someone was talking about plantains. That got my attention. Then she said the name of the dish was Mofongo. I sat up and pumped up the volume. With such an interesting, it had to be good,
Mofongo is generally made from fried green plantains (although fried yuca or breadfruit are possible) which is mashed together with broth, garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings or bits of bacon.
Oy...how do you make something so meat-full into a vegetarian delight?
The dish is of African origin and is a variant of a dish called "fufu" which is made from various starchy vegetables and was introduced to the Caribbean by Africans in the Spanish New World colonies such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and parts of Puerto Rico. But unlike mofongo where unripened plantains are fried, then mashed, fufu is made of either green or semi-ripe plantain boiled then mashed. Both fufu and mofongo are seasoned after the plantains are cooked and mashed.
With a bit of renewed energy, I went up to the kitchen and started trying to recreate the dish without the bacon, without the bacon grease and without the cracklins.
This is what I came up with.
Not quite Mofongo
3 or 4 medium-size green plantains (they should be green)3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspooon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 to 4 cups of water (depending on how dry the plantains are)
Butter for frying
3 or 4 cups of vegetable broth (optional)
- Peel and slice the plantains into ½ inch slices.
- Soak the plantains with the salt in cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan or heat in a fryer at 350 degrees. Fry the plantains until they turn a golden color.
- Remove the fried plantains from the pan and soak up excess oil with a towel.
- Peel the garlic, but leave the cloves whole. Using the melted butter that is left in the pan, roast the garlic until it softens and turns a light brown color. This will make it easier to mash with the plantains.
- Using a mortar and pestle, mash the plantains with the garlic. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, use Add in the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. After being mashed, the plantain mixture should have the consistency of very stiff, chunky mashed potatoes (as if the skins were left on).
- If it's needed, add ½ to a cup of water or vegetable broth to keep the mixture together.
- You can eat this as is or if you want it crispier on the outside, make it into a patty and fry it agan or pop it into the broiler for about 5 minutes.
- To make a vegan version, use oil instead of butter.
