Seasoned Mashed Plantains - {Machuca De Platano} Recipe - Cooking Index
Seasoned Mashed Plantains - {Machuca De Platano} Recipe - Cooking Index
The big variable in machuca de platano is the ripeness of the plantains. The dish is most suave and unctuous when made with ripe plantains. Green plantains (which would have been cheaper and more available) produce a very starchy mash that tends to become leaden if not eaten quite hot. Experiment if you like, trying to remember that plantains go through more stages of stubbornness and tenderness than can be exactly timed in any recipe. My own preference is to choose them on the semi-ripe side, yellow without a lot of black spots.
Type: Vegetables| 3 | Yellow plantains (large) | |
| 2 | Garlic cloves - coarsely chopped | |
| 2 | Jalapeños - (to 3) - stemmed, and | |
| Coarsely chopped | ||
| 1 | White onion | |
| 3 tablespoons | 45ml | Lard (preferably home-rendered) |
| 1 teaspoon | 5ml | Salt - (optional) |
Cut the tips off the plantains; cut each crosswise into 3 chunks. Place in a medium saucepan with water to cover by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook until a knife easily pierces the skin and flesh, 20 to 30 minutes. If you are using less ripe plantains, the cooking time must be increased. Green ones may take 30 to 40 minutes and will not be as sweet as yellow ones. Drain well and peel, using a knife tip if necessary, to help detach the skin. Return to the pan and mash as smooth as possible with a wooden spoon or potato masher.
While the plantains are cooking, crush the garlic and jalapeños to a paste using a mortar and pestle, or puree in a mini-processor. Chop the onion.
In a small skillet, heat the lard to rippling over medium-heat. Add the garlic-chile mixture, onion and optional salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir the mixture into the hot mashed plantains. (Alternatively, heat the lard and cook the aromatics in a large skillet, then add the hot mashed plantains; the texture will be more dense but just as good.)
Cook, stirring, until the flavors are well blended, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve at once. (You can make the dish several hours ahead, but it will seize up to a most forbidding texture when it cools and should be briefly reheated in a microwave to restore the original consistency.)
This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
Each of 8 servings: 87 calories; 121 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 1.23 grams fiber.
Source:
The Los Angeles Times, 09-12-2001
Average rating:
10 (2 votes)
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