Mofongo Recipes

MOFONGO RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Fry the plantains for 5-8 minutes, or golden brown on all sides. Transfer the plantains to a plate lined with a paper towel to remove excess grease.
• Using a large pilón (mortar and pestle) mash the plantains, garlic, and pork cracklins together, until the plantains are broken down. You might have to do this in small batches.
• Pack a serving into a small bowl and turn it over onto a plate for serving. Remove the bowl.
• Serve with extra pork cracklings (chicharrón) and garlic mojo on the side.
• Crush together garlic cloves and salt with a pilón (mortar and pestle), until you obtain a smooth paste. Transfer into a medium bowl.
• Stir in fresh bitter orange juice, olive oil, cumin, oregano, and chopped cilantro.
• Add more salt to taste, if desired.

TRADITIONAL PLANTAIN MOFONGO RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Heat about 2 inches of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer to 350 F.
• While the oil is heating up, peel the plantains and cut into 1-inch rounds.
• Fry the plantains until golden and tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Remove cooked plantains from the pan or fryer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Put the garlic paste in a large bowl or mortar and add the fried plantains, in batches, if necessary. Mash thoroughly.
• Add the pork rinds. Continue to mash and mix until all of the ingredients are combined. Add salt to taste.
• Shape the mofongo into 4 balls and serve.
• Alternatively, you can make the mofongo into a half-dome shape using a small condiment bowl as a mold; push a portion of mofongo down to the bottom of the bowl.
• With the back of a spoon, smooth over and level off the mix.
• Then use the spoon to scrape around the bowl and remove the mash in a half-dome shape.

VEGAN MOFONGO (FRIED MASHED PLANTAINS)

Steps:

• Fill a 1-quart pot with water; boil plantains with a pinch of salt until easily pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.
• Mash plantains with tomato sauce, cilantro, sofrito, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, and sazon in a mortar or glass bowl. Incorporate the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and enough vegetable broth to ensure that mofongo sticks together but is dry enough to easily slip out of a container. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve mofongo on top of the remaining 5 tablespoons vegetable broth in a bowl.

MOFONGO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saute pan or large, deep skillet over medium heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the plantains in 2 batches until golden brown on each side, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Set aside.
• Working in batches, crush the pork cracklings, garlic and salt in a wooden mortar and pestle (a pilon) or in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the plantains and mash together to incorporate. Mash in the margarine.
• Using your hands, shape the plantain mixture into 6 balls. Serve warm or hot.

HOW TO MAKE MOFONGO [RECIPE + VIDEO]

Steps:

• In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Brown the beef being careful that it does not burn. Add the garlic and onion and stir. Pour in 4 cups of water, and add cilantro, cilantro ancho, and oregano.Boil for an hour over low heat, topping off the water every once in a while to maintain the same level.Season with salt to taste. Sieve and remove the solids.
• Heat oil in a small pot or saucepan over medium heat and fry the plantain slices till golden brown all over (3-5 mins). Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel.
• Using a pilón (large mortar and pestle) or potato masher, crush the garlic and salt together, add in plantains and mash, then add pork cracklings and mash and crush to combine with the plantains (You might have to divide the ingredients and do it in 6 batches to fit in your pilón). It will have a dense consistency and will more or less form a ball.
• Shape the mixture into 6 balls and place each in a small bowl.
• Place the balls into the serving plates, and garnish with the broth, that you'll use to pour over and moisten the mofongo balls.
• Wrap the plantains in aluminum foilBake plantains in a preheated oven at 400ºF [200ºC] for 35 minutes, or cook in an air fryer preheated to 350ºF [175ºC]
• In the meantime, in a pan heat olive oil over very low heat. Stir in garlic and sprinkle with salt.Cover and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, and making sure the heat is low enough that the garlic does not burn or change to a dark color. Set aside.
• Remove the plantains from the oven and let them cool down for 5 minutes. Carefully peel them.
• Mash the plantains one by one in a mortar and pestle, adding to each plantain ¼ of the oil and garlic and ¼ of the pork cracklings while you mash and mix.Form each plantain mash into a dome, or scoop it into a bowl. Serve 4 servings of the broth - alongside each mofongo bowl - that you'll use to pour over and moisten the mofongo balls.

SWORDFISH MOFONGO

Steps:

• Blend 6 cups cool water with 2 tablespoons salt, in a large bowl. Add the plantains and let soak for 1 hour.
• In a deep-fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, heat enough oil to come halfway up the sides of the pot, to 375 degrees F.
• Remove the plantains from water, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Add them to the hot oil, in batches, and fry until golden brown. Remove them from the oil to paper towels to drain.
• In a large bowl add the flour and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Dredge the swordfish in seasoned flour, tapping off the excess. In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons butter. When the butter is hot add the swordfish. Cook until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Arrange the medallions on a platter and keep warm until serving.
• In saucepan, over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until the edges are browned, then remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.
• Add the cooked plantains, ginger, garlic, bacon and the potatoes to a food processor and pulse until well blended, (do not puree). Stir in the chives.
• Remove the mixture from the food processor to a serving dish.
• Top the swordfish medallions with fresh fruit or light seafood broth, if desired, and serve with the plantain mixture.

CHICHARRON MOFONGO

Steps:

• For the chicken: Cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch chunks. Combine the olive oil with the chicken base, granulated garlic, adobo seasoning, Cajun spice, granulated onion, black pepper and all-purpose seasoning in a large bowl. Add the chicken and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
• Deep-fry the chicken until cooked thoroughly. Drain on paper towels.
• For the mofongo: Slice the plantains into 1-inch pieces. Lightly fry until golden brown with a slightly crisp outside, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Combine the olive oil with the minced garlic, adobo seasoning, Cajun spice, granulated garlic and black pepper in a medium bowl. Add the fried plantains to the bowl and mash with a wooden pestle or potato mashing tool. Add half of the fried chicken to the mashed plantain mixture. Form a rounded mound of the mofongo mix in the center of a large plate. Arrange the remaining fried chicken pieces around the mofongo. Drizzle the Puerto Rican Remoulade over top.
• Combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, granulated garlic, minced garlic, sofrito, adobo seasoning, Cajun spice, granulated onion, cayenne, black pepper and onion in a blender. Blend until an even consistency.
• Peel and slice the onion. Remove the stem and seeds from the bell pepper. Remove the stems from the mini peppers. Combine the onion, peppers, garlic and cilantro in a blender and pulse for 30 seconds, or until an even consistency is achieved.

MOFONGO

Steps:

• Heat canola oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mash the garlic with the olive oil in a mortar and pestle. Combine garlic mixture with the pork rinds in a large bowl; set aside.
• Fry the plantain chunks until golden and crispy, but not brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the fried plantains into the bowl with the garlic mixture. Toss to coat. Mash the coated plantains with the mortar and pestle until smooth. Season with salt. Roll the plantain mixture into two large balls or several small balls before serving.

MOFONGO

Steps:

• Prepare the guiso, if using: Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until simmering. Add sofrito, reduce heat to medium-low and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes until liquid is evaporated.
• Pour in tomato sauce, partially cover with a lid, and simmer over low for 7 to 10 minutes. Sauce will thicken and darken in color.
• While sauce simmers, prepare the mofongo: Pour vegetable oil into a medium saucepan until it reaches a 3-inch depth, then heat over medium-high.
• Meanwhile, crush garlic and 1 teaspoon salt in a pilón or large mortar and pestle until a wet paste forms.
• In a separate, small saucepan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium until just simmering, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour this hot oil on top of the garlic, carefully stirring to incorporate. It'll sizzle, and the garlic may turn light green. Add lime juice to complete the mojo.
• Peel plantains by cutting off both ends, then make three lengthwise slices through the skin. Carefully pull up the peel and remove it, starting at one of the corners with the edge of your fingernail or the tip of your knife if tough, then cut the plantains into 1 1/2-inch rounds. (Be careful: Plantain skins will stain your hands and clothing.)
• Once the vegetable oil is simmering somewhere between 350 and 375 degrees - you can test by adding a small piece of plantain; it will sizzle when the oil is hot enough - add plantains in 2 or 3 batches, taking care not to crown the pot. Fry each batch for 6 to 9 minutes, stirring lightly a few times, until the plantains begin to brown. Be careful not to let them get too dark, or they'll be hard and dry. Use a slotted spoon or mesh strainer to transfer plantains to a towel-lined bowl.
• If you have a large enough pilón, add fried plantains and chicharrón, if using, until pilón is three-quarters full. Mash together, alternating pounding and grinding. Once mixture has condensed to about half its original size, add 1 heaping tablespoon of the prepared mojo (or to taste), and continue grinding and mashing until fully combined. The mixture will look like stuffing.
• If you don't have a pilón, combine plantains, chicharrón and mojo in a large wooden bowl. Using the bottom of a slender jar, such as an olive jar, mash together to incorporate, rotating the bowl after each mash. Pound, grind and mash until mofongo is blended.
• Form the mashed mixture into 4 individual mofongos, each roughly the size of a baseball, or press into the bottom of a small rice bowl, then turn each onto a plate or into a larger bowl.
• Serve immediately, garnished with extra chicharrón, lime wedges and cilantro, if you like. Spoon over guiso as desired.