Mofongomania

Natasha Martin

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

There’s nothing that tastes quite like a mofongo. The first time I ate the Puerto Rican dish of fried green plantains mashed with garlic, cilantro, meats and/or seafood served in broth, I was taken by how different it is to other foods. I’m tempted to characterize it as meatloaf, meatballs, mashed potatoes and goulash all in one dish, but in actuality, a mofongo tastes like a mofongo. As eaters, we’re too often manipulated by our desire to relate one food to another, i.e. “These frog legs taste like chicken.” When it comes to this Latin hybrid dish, it’s important to enjoy its rich, woody flavors as they hit your tongue — not how it measures up to the last weird thing you ate.

(Sarah Bures)

Recipe yields 8 mofongo balls

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
Garlic powder (optional)
4 green plantains, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 cups of chicken stock
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Several chunks of bacon, dried pork skins, or any cooked meat/fish of your choice.
4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
Fresh cilantro, lime and avocado slices for garnish

Start by soaking the peeled, chopped plantains in a cold bowl of salted water for five minutes. Dry each piece with paper towel and fry in oil over medium heat until both sides of each chunk are lightly browned and their insides have softened. Add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a saucepan over low heat. Season with garlic powder and cilantro.

In a separate bowl, combine meat/fish with garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper, then add in cooked plantains. With a large fork or the handle of a rolling pin, aggressively mash the plantains into the rest of the mixture until it is smooth but not whipped. With clean hands, roll the mixture into several balls, each roughly the size of a clementine.

Serve in bowls with cilantro-garlic broth at the base. Garnish with lime, cilantro and avocado slices.

Comments

this is the WRONG way of

this is the WRONG way of making Mofongo... or to say the white version of it. It doesnt even look like mofongo. And I know for a FACT that Puerto Ricans don't cook it this way. This is wrong.

Submitted by Anonymous on December 2, 2010 - 11:46am.

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Mofongomania

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this is the WRONG way of