Go Bananas

On every menu in every street corner cafetería in Puerto Rico, you will almost certainly find mofongo, one of the island’s food staples. This hearty starch is made by crushing tostones (friend plantains), garlic, olive oil, and chicarrones (pork rind) or bacon into a thick, mashed-potato consistency.

To craft the dish yourself, you will need:

3 green plantains

1 tbsp. crushed garlic

1 tbsp. olive oil

0.5 lb. chicarrón or crumbled, cooked bacon

Vegetable oil for frying.

Peel the plantains and cut them into one-inch slices. Fry the slices in hot vegetable oil for 15min., then allow to cool slightly. Now comes the fun part: combine the garlic, olive oil, some of the pork, and some of the plantain slices, and mash away! You can use a mortar and pestle, or, if you’re in a pinch, a spoon and bowl. Work in small portions.

Once the mixture is pureed, mold the batter-like substance into three large balls and serve with fried pork and onions, or beef tips, or chicken or shrimp; as a side dish or as a main course—with anything, really. The mofongo will acquire the flavor of its partner sauces, and nothing is more traditionally Puerto Rican than a melange of mofongo stuffings.