MOFONGO 101 EVERYBODY!

​MOFONGO is a typical Puerto Rican and Caribbean dish that consist of few simple ingredients; fried green plantains, tons of garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper, all mashed in a mortar with a pestle. Traditionally, you would add pork cracklings or pork rind and some people when lacking both of these ingredients use crispy bacon and its fat. I go the healthier way with olive oil and it works just fine.
 
TOMORROW: MOFONGO WITH GARLIC AIOLI OCTOPUS!
 
Approximate Prep and Cooking Time: 25 Minutes
Approximate Cost: $5.15 or $1.72 per Mofongo ball
Difficulty Level: ______ Easy __X__ Intermediate ____ Advanced
Servings: 3
 
Ingredients
4 green plantains ($1.15)
Salted water (0)
2 c. peanut oil (to fry the plantains) ($2.50)
 
3 garlic cloves (.30)
Salt (.10)
Pepper (.10)
Olive oil (to add to the plantains while you are mashing them) ($1.00)
 
Directions

• Follow my slide presentation to learn how to peel the plantains. Just cut both ends, make a cut in the peel from one end to the other, then with a spoon, detach the peel from the plantains.
• Cut the plantains in about 1” pieces and soak in salted water-to-taste for about 10 minutes.
• Add 1 or 2 cloves of garlic with salt and pepper to-taste to the mortar and mash. Then add a bit of olive oil to make a thick cream. Set aside.

 

• When ready to fry the plantains, drain the salted water and pat them dry well before placing them in the skillet with hot peanut oil.

 

• Cook the plantain pieces until light golden brown, just cook until soft; however, don’t overcook, since they will be hard to mash in the mortar.

 

• Remove from the peanut oil and place directly inside the garlic cream you have in the mortar. Mash them with a passion until they can be molded into a ball or several balls. If the Mofongo looks dry add a little more olive oil to make it easier to shape either in balls or in half bowl to fill with anything you may want.

 

• In my recipe, just flip the Mofongo from the mortar upside to look like a dome.

 
HACK: You can stuff Mofongo with chicken, shrimp, lobster, or any seafood or meat of your choice, as long as it comes with a nice sauce, gravy, aioli or Ajilimojili.