Tripwolf Blog

Since coming back last weekend from my honeymoon in Panama, friends always ask me, “What was your favorite part of the trip?” Sure, I tell them that it was awesome to hang out with my new husband and discover the joys of newlywed life, but deep down, I want to shout to the heavens, “Oh. my. god. THE PLANTAINS!!!”

I’ve always had a soft spot for anything sweet or deep-fried, most recently proven at the wedding when we had not one, but five wedding cakes. The more calories, the better, and if there’s a fry-daddy involved, well god bless ‘em. So the simple plantain – with its variations of sweet or savory, but always fried – was a bit of a revelation for a girl like me. It made its ever-popular cousin, the banana, look like a lame one-trick pony in comparison.

Read more for recipes and pictures!

Though I never caught the Panamanian name for my two most beloved preparations of plantains, a google search revealed them to be pretty universally known as “tostones” and “platanos maduros.” Tostones are like a badass, Latino version of French fries, but use green, underripe plantains. Because of how starchy they are, tostones generally replace the carbohydrate in a meal. Platanos maduros, on the other hand, make use of black, overripe plantains and are more of what you’d expect from a dessert, but I saw Panamanians happily scarfing these down with rice and spicy beef stews, and you know what? They’ve got a good thing going.

I had managed to have one, if not both, of these plantain dishes on every day of the trip, and there was no way I was turning back now. Luckily, I live in a neighborhood teeming with Dominican and Puerto Rican immigrants, so plantains in every stage of ripeness were nary a block away. Fully armed, I started researching how I could possibly recreate these tasty morsels of deep-fried heaven in the humbleness of my NYC kitchen.

Turns out, it’s not so hard. In fact, it is probably easier than anything else you’ve attempted cooking. It’s so easy that, yeah, I could probably have these every day like I did while I was in Panama, if I didn’t mind the 10 extra pounds my ass would have to carry around.

Tostones
*as the carb for a dish including meat and vegetables, each person will probably want 4-5 tostones

green plantains
canola oil
sea salt

Cut the ends off the plantains, then cut a length-wise slit through the skin. Cut the plantains into 1-inch wide pieces and peel the skin away, starting at the slit.

Sliced Plantains

In a nonstick skillet, heat enough oil over moderate heat to go halfway up the sides of the plantains (1/2 inch). Don’t let the oil start smoking, the oil is hot enough if it sizzles when you put a plantain in. Put the plantains in, being careful not to crowd (you may do 2-4 batches, depending on how big your skillet is and how many plantains you want to cook). Fry until golden, about 3 minutes each side. Transfer cooked plantains with tongs to a plate lined with paper towels.

Let them sit for a minute or two until cool enough to handle. Now comes the fun part.

Flatten

Flatten the plantains with a plate, bowl, pan, whatever you can find, until they are about 1/4 inch thick. They’ll spread in diameter to about 3 inches. Fry the flattened plantains until golden, about 3 minutes, turning halfway through. Transfer tostones to another plate lined with paper towels and season with salt if desired.

Frying

If you have leftover tostones, you can reheat them by refrying them, and they are as good as new.

Platanos Maduros
*if you’d like to have these for dessert instead of as a side for a main course, you can roll the bananas in sugar before frying

very ripe plantains (heavy black spotting to completely black skin)
canola oil

The preparation for platanos maduros is basically the same as Tostones, except without the plate-smashing part. Peel and cut the plantains on the diagonal (to maximize the surface area available for caramelization) into 1-inch pieces.

In a nonstick skillet, heat enough oil over moderate heat to go halfway up the sides of the plantains (1/2 inch). Don’t let the oil start smoking, the oil is hot enough if it sizzles when you put a plantain in. Put the plantains in, being careful not to crowd (you may do 2-4 batches, depending on how big your skillet is and how many plantains you want to cook). After a minute or two on both sides, turn down the heat and keep cooking, turning occasionally, until they are brown and caramelized.