Mofongo
Local name : Mofongo
Green plantains fried then pounded in a pilón with garlic and olive oil, packed into a dome.
Photo : Diane · CC BY 2.0
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- Score the skin of the green plantains along their length and work it off by hand under warm running water.
- Cut the flesh into 3 cm rounds and soak them in salted water for 15 minutes.
- Pound the garlic with the salt and olive oil in the pilón, then set that paste aside.
- Dry the rounds and fry them at 165 °C for 6 minutes. They should stay pale yellow and soft in the middle.
- Pound the hot rounds in the pilón with the garlic paste, in small batches, adding the broth a spoonful at a time.
- Press the mash into a bowl, turn it out onto the plate and add pepper. Scatter coriander over and serve hot.
Mofongo has to be worked hot. Once it cools, the plantain stiffens and refuses to bind. The broth stands in for the crisp pork that carries the fat in the classic version, so add it by spoonfuls to keep the mash dense rather than wet.
