Tostones

Ingredients

• Green plantains4
• Garlic8 clove
• Water500 ml
• Oil for frying500 ml
• Olive oil60 ml
• Lime1
• Ground cumin½ tsp
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Score the plantain skin lengthways and lever it off with a knife; a green one will not peel by hand.

   10 min

2. 2

   Cut them across into three-centimetre pieces.

   5 min

3. 3

   Crush half the garlic with salt and stir it into half a litre of warm water.

   6 min

4. 4

   Fry the pieces at 160 °C for four minutes, until soft but not golden.

   12 min

5. 5

   Flatten each piece with the base of a glass or a press to a centimetre thick.

   8 min

6. 6

   Dip the discs in the garlic water for a second and pat them dry.

   5 min

7. 7

   Fry them a second time at 190 °C for two minutes to a crisp shell, salt them and serve with a mojo of the remaining garlic, olive oil and lime.

   12 min

About the dish

The double fry is obligatory: the first softens the starch, the second builds the crust. One pass gives either a raw middle or a dry hard disc.

Between the fryings the slices are flattened and dipped in salted garlic water. That water turns to steam inside on the second fry and keeps the middle soft.

The plantain must be strictly green. A ripe one caramelises and becomes maduros — a different, sweet dish, and confusing the two is not done.

Worth knowing

• — Peel them under water or with oiled hands. Green plantain sap leaves black marks on the skin for days.
• — Flatten them hot. Cooled pieces crack at the edges and break apart.
• — Tostones are eaten at once. Within ten minutes they go leathery, and reheating does not bring the crunch back.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

380 kcal

Protein

3 g

Fat

18 g

Carbs

54 g

More from Cuba

• Ropa vieja — Beef pulled into strands and stewed in sofrito with peppers and olives. The meat is boiled whole in advance.
• Moros y cristianos — Rice cooked in the liquid from black beans, which darkens it and gives it all their flavour.
• Arroz con pollo — Chicken with rice cooked in beer and saffron, with peas, peppers and olives.