Fried Plantains!

Ahh, tostones!
Or sweet fried plantains dusted with sugar and cinnamon.
Or mangu.
Or cheese-crusted plantain puffs.

Courtesy of the Dominican Republic, the green plantain arrives to the North American Midwest promising addictive crunchiness, sweetness, and a slight flair of all things Caribbean.

But truth be told, in the Dominican Republic the plantain acts as a social buffer, a sort of sacrificial lamb bearing the blame for all sorts of social maladies. There is even a myth in the D.R. that eating too many plantains can cause a blockage to the brain’s intelligence, resulting in some sort of mysterious stupor.Seriously!

So, myth or no myth I, however, prefer to see the plantain as the green gold of the Caribbean.
Much more palatable than the golden mineral, it has provided nourishment to generations living in the area and fueled many island economies too. Guess what? If money were to grow on trees it would look like plantains!

And at the end of the day, plantains didn’t even originate in the Americas. Plantains and bananas - variations of the same fruit with bananas being sweeter and with a higher sugar content than plantains- are originally from Asia, and were cultivated in the south of India around 500 B.C. Ancient trade routes distributed the plantain and banana to Africa through Madagascar, and it is rumored that the fruits were brought to Europe by Alexander the Great. Portuguese explorers later introduced plantains and bananas to their different colonies, most notably in the African and  Caribbean regions, and in the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines.

My kitchen table, looking pretty tropical these days.

And voila, there you have it! A very condensed history of the origin of plantains in very broadly swept brushstrokes.
Because, let’s face it… we’re all thinking: “enough of this silliness!” Lose the history lesson Porteñita and pass the tostones por favor!

The business at hand today is learning howto make some very tasty fried plantains. I was fortunate to have learned from a very skilled teacher, my friend Anna, who is a wonderful writer and cook - as well as a well-seasoned plantain-connoisseur.

With this recipe, you'll soon see that fried plantains can be quickly mastered. The only catch is that you don’t mind standing a bit by the stove and watching them turn a lovely golden color. So here we go:


Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes per batch
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 unripe plantains (they will look green)
1 ½ cups of oil
Salt
Herbs as desired
3 oz. Mexican Cotija cheese



Directions:

1.      Peel the plantains and cut into ½ inch slices.

2.      In a deep frying pan, heat the oil.

3.      Fry the plantains until both sides are golden. Do not burn! Or it will give a bitter taste.

4.      Using paper towels, if desired, pat the plantains dry.

5.      Serve while warm, ideally with Cotija Mexican cheese.

Variations:

*Some people in the Dominican Republican prefer to cut the plantains into thicker slices (1 inch). After frying them the first time, they remove the slices from the frying pan, flatten them, and fry them a second time.
*some people prefer to add spices or herbs for an additional kick. Parsley and garlic are some of the typical choices, but personally I have not tried these yet.
*If you’re using ripened plantains (the peel will look more yellowish with some black marks) you can prepare them the same way as outlined in the recipe, but due to the ripeness of the fruit they will have higher sugar content and be sweeter in general. So if you want to, instead of salt, you can dust them with some cinnamon and sugar. And this sweetened variation is pretty great to serve with vanilla ice cream for dessert too. Quite possibly, a unique treat your guests will never forget…