Cuisine Rocks

Passport & Plate - Mofongo

Puerto Rico | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
Plantains (green)
Pork Rinds (Chicharron)
Garlic- minced(obscene amount)
Olive Oil
Lard
Salt
Pepper
Equipment: Pilón and pestle

 

How to prepare this recipe
Plantains must be green!
Heat lard in a frying pan until fat shimmers but isn't smoking
1. Open plantains (and obtain 'La mancha de plátano')
2. Cut into ~1 inch slices
3. Fry multiple plantain segments for a few min on each side, turning once(oil shouldn't reach over halfway up each segment)
4. In the pilón, add obscene amount of minced garlic, generous glug of olive oil, fried plantains, and pork rinds (let's say 2 rinds for each of the plantain slices)
5. Mash ingredients in Pilón, salt and pepper to taste
6. Form mash into a ball, generally in the Pilón, or on a plate surrounded by spicy sofrito broth and a protein

Consume, knowing that your breath will be able to repel vampires for a week! There are endless variations to this dish, from seafood to pork shoulder. Stuff the mofongo with your choice of protein, and you will have a delicious, hearty, soulful meal.

 

The story behind this recipe
During the summer of 2013, I was a geology student at the University of Michigan participating in a field camp in Puerto Rico. The lead instructor, Dr. Pablo, was a native of the island and he loved cooking as much as he loved teaching. He and I hit it off sharing a deep love of food and Earth. After a few days on the island, we decided to have a group cookout on our rooftop lounge. Dr. Pablo and I cooked a big meal for the group; I handled grill duty cooking chicken and burgers, while he whipped up the incredible mofongo bites.

During our stay, I was lucky to learn how to prepare these magnificent mofongo morsels in the kitchen of our temporary, Puerto Rican home. The space was tight and the cooking instruments limited, but we made the best of it. We joked about how cooking in a strange kitchen was similar to working in someone else's research lab. Luckily, Dr. Pablo brought his personal Pilón, which became my number one souvenir from the trip. He taught me how to peel a plantain (which isn't easy) and leaves your hands stained with a brownish green hue the locals refer to as 'La mancha de plátano'. It was only after I had the touch of the plantain that I could be accepted like a local.

Our gathering evolved into a wonderful evening of eating and drinking with the professors, and everyone was brought together by our food. The relaxation was needed after spending 10 hrs in 100+ degree heat in a rain shadow (basically a desert, precipitation will seldom fall here) on the SW portion of the island. I experienced many new dishes in my short time on the island, but the only one I continue to make is mofongo; that is, on the rare occasion I find green plantains in Michigan. One of the biggest benefits of my career choice is the necessity of travel, which affords me the luxury of myriad interesting cuisine experiences, but I have a feeling the cookout in Puerto Rico will be a lifelong memory.