The hearty dish is now commonly paired with Puerto Rican classics like pernil, carne frita, and shrimp mojo. Mofongo’s core strength is its versatility. It pairs with everything, even just a simple topping of crunchy crumbled pork rinds. And that’s why this year I’m kicking potatoes off my holiday menu, and making mofongo instead.
To create the dish, Puerto Rican cooks would traditionally used a mortar and pestle to crush green plantains. These days, a food processor works just fine, but many cooks, including Chef Carrillo and his grandmother, still do things the old-fashioned way. Carrillo puts fried green plantains, olive oil, garlic, and vegetable stock together in the mortar and pounds it with the pestle until it becomes smooth.
Unlike Chef Carrillo, I use a food processor and find the consistency nearly identical, very smooth and soft. I use a half-ripe plantain instead of a green one—blasphemy, I know, to Carrillo and other mofongo traditionalists. But I like the combination of sweet-savory tastes and find half-ripe plantains easier to peel and mash than the green ones. I fry those half-ripe plantains in a good amount of oil, too—once they turn a darker golden color, they’re ready to scoop out, cool, and process.
Is there a dish that you'll be introducing to your holiday table for the first time this year? Share it with us in the comments! We’ve joined forces with Tillamook to support All For Farmers—a coalition benefiting farmers across the nation—with a special market that gives back. Featuring Shop all-stars and a limited-edition Five Two apron, a portion of proceeds from every purchase supports American Farmland Trust’s Brighter Future Fund.
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