Can you think of any food that you just can’t get enough of, the kind of food that you would eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even dessert? Everyone has one; mine would have to be the plantain! My favorite part about it, besides the delicious taste, is the fact that it can be enjoyed in a bunch of different ways. Hold onto your peels, guys, because we’re about to explore how plantain eating is done all around the world…and you might just go bananas.
1. Mangú
This famous Dominican recipe called Mangú brings the best of plantain, by mashing it with tenderizing butter, adding beautiful, colorful, onions to it, and of course, complementing it with a side of salami, fried or scrambled eggs, and fried cheese! It’s pretty much a plate full of delicious things that you would love to wake up to every single morning…can’t you tell not much else is missing here?
2. Bolón
Whether you’ve heard of it or not, a big ball of gooey cheese, chicharrón (pork rind), and plantain sounds like a combination that can’t go wrong. This way of making plantain is popular in Ecuador, where they cook the plantain, shape it into a ball (like its name), and add cheese, chicharrón, or both. P.S. There are no limits to its size! (That’s the best part)
3. Mofongo
Once you see this picture, you don’t have to know the recipe to know this plate is going be good. Mofongos originate from Puerto Rico, where they make semi-spherical shaped plantains (like mini baskets), add garlic, and fill them with meat, shrimp, soup, or anything you could fathom to eat at any time of the day really. Puerto Ricans definitely know how to live.
4. Atol
I know what you’re thinking, but no, plantain does not only taste good in its solid shape. In Guatemala, plantain is blended with cinnamon and sugar to create a sweet drink called Atol. It may sound weird at first to “drink” plantain, but its flavor is vibrant, tangy, and overall extremely savory. You can even eat it like a smoothie bowl and add all of your favorite toppings. Cheers to creativity and plantains!
5. Tostón, Patacón, Tajada… Everything Plantain
Slices of plantain deliciously fried…twice. That’s right, these crunchy pieces of heaven come from everywhere: Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and a whole lot of great countries’ cuisines. Just mash up some green plantains and fry them in hot oil, and you’ll get this masterpiece that goes absolutely great with a mayo-ketchup sauce, a garlic sauce, or an avocado sauce. Once you try them, you’re gonna want them as a side for every meal you have. Honestly, you can even have them as a main course by themselves, why not?
Even though all plantain related foods may look the same at first glance, if you ask people from different countries how they prepare it, they’ll tell you about their unique twist to it, making all of these plantain based recipes truly one of a kind.
Plantain works in every way: fried, boiled, mashed, blended, mixed…we don’t really care, we just want to get it in our belly. Every culture has its own story, and with its story they bring their own way of making plantain. Don’t you just want to try them all now?