Arañitas

Arañitas are a variation of the tostones recipe. In Spanish, arañitas means little spiders and the recipe gets its name from the shredded plantain, which looks like spider legs when fried. Yeah, I know that doesn't sound appetizing, but these little fried plantains are delish. Serve arañitas instead of bread or as a side to your chicken and rice dish.

INGREDIENTS (makes about 12 arañitas)

• 1 large green plantain
• 1 large garlic clove (minced)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Olive or vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the plantain and shred with a coarse grater.
2. Place the grated plantain in salted water and let soak for about 10 minutes.
3. Drain the grated plantain and dry with paper towels to soak up excess water.
4. Mix the grated plantain with the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
6. Fry the shredded mix by the spoonful in clumps until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
7. Drain on paper towels, lightly salt while still hot and serve immediately.

Mofongo

One of my favorite comfort foods is mofongo. It's a dish made of mashed plantains, garlic, and pork cracklings. This is a very popular dish for Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Dominicans and it's definitely not a typical Mexican dish. However, after my mom married a Puerto Rican, she learned how to make mofongo, and once I had it I totally fell for it. It has been a while since mom has made it because it's messy, it contains a lot of fat, but I had a craving and I just had to make it! I typically buy the jarred Goya sofrito and use a little of that to top the mofongo.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 plantains, green
• 1/3 cup salt pork, diced
• ½ tablespoon garlic, fresh, mashed
• Canola oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Using a sharp knife, slice open each plantain lengthwise just deep enough as the peel, and peel them. Cut each plantain into 1" pieces on a bias. Add the pieces into a bowl filled with cold water.

In a large frying pan, pour in about an inch of oil. When the oil is hot, add some of the plantain pieces, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 3 minutes on each side. You want the plantains to be fork-tender but not too browned. (Be careful because there will be a lot of splatter).

Remove the tender pieces one at a time from the pan, and place paper towels to drain. On a cutting board, place one piece of plantain at a time and flatten it with a wide wooden spatula or the bottom of a small plate. Continue with the rest of the plantains.

Add the salt pork to the oil and cook for about 5 minutes. You want the salt pork cooked and the fat rendered. Drain the pieces out with a spoon and place in a medium sized metal bowl. Add the garlic to the bowl.

When the oil is hot again, raise the heat to medium-high and add the plantains back to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, turn, and then cook for another minute. You want them browned and crispy. Remove the pieces to a paper-towel lined plate.

Working in batches, place a bit of the salted pork and garlic, and several fried plantains in the molcajete**; smash with the pestle. When it's in a nice crumbly paste consistency, add it to a glass bowl and keep warm. Continue smashing until you're done.

Shape the mofongo into 2 inch balls and spoon some sofrito sauce over them and serve as a side dish to a salad; or place mofongo balls in soup bowls and douse with broth, garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

**You can also use a food processor – add the plantains to food processor with salt pork bits, and garlic. Process to consistency of mashed—not whipped—potatoes. Do not over process!

Piñon: Beef Plantain Omelette

Piñon is a thick omelette-style cake filled with ground beef, fried ripened plantains and capers and olives. This dish is the epitome of good Puerto Rican comfort food and it tastes great served with a cold malta (if you haven't tried a malta yet, taste it with caution. It's an acquired taste!). My mom has perfected this dish but mine didn't come out as pretty looking as hers, hence no picture, but the taste was delicious. The sweet plaintains with the beef and sofrito is a winning combination.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 very ripe plantains
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sofrito (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon capers, rinsed
• 1 Tablespoon sliced green olives
• Salt and pepper
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Peel the plantains, cut into 2-inch thick legthwise slices, and fry in the olive oil until golden brown. Remove, drain in a paper towel and keep warm.
3. Add one tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and saute the onion, green pepper, and garlic until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and fry at high heat for 3 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, the sofrito and add the capers and olives. Cook 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (As always, taste first before adding salt).
4. Beat the eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste, until fluffy. Butter the sides and bottom of a round casserole and melt the remaining butter in the bottom.
5. Pour in half of the beaten eggs and cook over medium heat (over the stove top) for about 1 minute or until slightly set. Cover the eggs with one-third of the plantain slices, following with layers of half the ground meat. Add another layer of plantains, the remainder of the ground beef and top with plantains. Pour the rest of the beaten eggs over the top.
6. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes, uncovered, being careful not to let the omelette burn. Then place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown the top of the piñon. Serve with rice and beans.