As the curriculum coordinator of The Chopping Block, it's my job to create new and exciting menus for our class calendar that support our mission in Getting the Country to Cook. When I come up with a fresh idea for a class, I have the fun privilege of testing the new recipes at home and using my family as guinea pigs. Not only is this really fun for me, but for my family, too... my kids love getting involved in the kitchen, trying new and different foods and recipes.
My most recent culinary adventure involves the reboot of our popular Street Food class. This was a challenging menu to change because it was almost impossible to narrow down the options! There must be hundreds of thousands of amazing street food dishes around the world, and I was tasked with selecting just four for the class. I started my journey by tuning into the new show Street Food on Netflix for inspiration. Have you checked this out yet? It's really engaging mostly because it spends a lot of time exploring the people and their individual stories behind the great food they prepare.
My goal was to make the menu diverse, so I looked at many different parts of the world. I ended up in the Caribbean, which is awesome because there are so many bright, amazing flavors to work with. After doing a little research and narrowing down the options, it was clear that tostones would be an absolutely perfect fit for the new menu.
Tostones are twice-fried slices of green plantains. What in the world is a plantain you ask? At first glance, they look like bananas but taste dramatically different.
Unripe plantains have a green skin, and are very starchy and hard. As the plantain ripens, its high starch content changes to sugar and the peel changes to brown or black. When fully ripened, the skin will turn completely black, and the fruit will be deliciously soft and sweet. The main difference between plantains and bananas, is that plantains always need to be cooked. Watch our Owner/Chef Shelley Young make Cuban Nachos using plantains.
I’ve eaten and really enjoyed tostones before, but I had never made them at home until a few days ago. Fortunately my local grocery store, Valli Produce in Evanston, carries plantains, so when I got home after shopping, I fired up the Bob Marley station on Pandora and got to work.
The first step in peeling the plantains is very approachable; check out the video here:
In order to multitask, I started preheating the oil while peeling and cutting the plantains.
Once it reached 350°, I gently lowered the plantain pieces into the oil using a spider.
The first round of frying is to soften the plantains, which takes about 5 minutes.
The fruit will turn a very light golden brown around the edges.
The next step is the fun part, because now you get to smash the plantains! As you can see in the pictures, we have a tortilla press that works really well, but a mallet or the bottom of a small sauté pan will definitely do the job.
Slide the smashed plantains into the hot oil for a second time, and cook until golden brown and crisp.
After carefully scooping them out of the hot oil, place them on a wire rack, and sprinkle with salt.
We served our tostones with a Mojo Verde, which is a fresh herb sauce made from cilantro, parsley, garlic, jalapeño and lime. But, you can serve yours with any zesty sauce you like, or just eat them as is!
Tostones (Crispy Fried Plantains)
Yield: 4-6 servings as a snack
Active time: 30 minutes
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Oil for frying
3 large green plantains
Salt to taste
- Fill a wide, heavy pan 1/3 of the way with oil. Heat until the oil reaches 350° on a deep fry thermometer.
- Cut the ends off each plantain, and using a knife, cut through the skin from top to bottom 3 times around the length of the plantain, taking care just to cut the skin and not the actual plantain.
- Using your fingers, peel off the tough outer skin of the fruit, and discard.
- Cut the plantains into 1-inch-thick pieces.
- Fry the plantains, in batches if necessary to prevent overcrowding the pan, until softened and very light in color.
- Using a skimmer, remove the plantains from the oil and place on a paper towel-lined sheet tray.
- Place the plantains on your work surface, and using a mallet, tortilla press or the bottom of a sauté pan, smash the plantains to flatten them. Take care not to make them too thin, otherwise they will break apart.
- Return the smashed plantains to the hot oil, in batches, and continue to cook until deep golden brown.
- Using a skimmer, remove the plantains from the oil and place on a cooling rack set over a sheet tray.
- Sprinkle with salt, and serve with Mojo Verde Dipping Sauce (recipe follows).
Mojo Verde
Yield: 1 cup
Active time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 10 minutes
2 cloves garlic
3 cups fresh cilantro leaves
2 cups fresh parsley leaves
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and cut into medium dice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Water as needed
Salt to taste
- Measure the garlic, cilantro, parsley, lime juice, jalapeño, olive oil and vinegar in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if the sauce is too thick.
- Season with salt to taste, and serve.
If you're ready for your next culinary adventure around the world, join us this summer for our new Street Food class. You'll not only learn how to make tostones, but other delicious and savory recipes that will transport you to new and exciting places. This hands-on class is being offered on:
- Tuesday, July 2 6pm Merchandise Mart
- Thursday, July 11 7pm Lincoln Square
- Wednesday, July 24 7pm Lincoln Square
- Friday, August 2 6pm Merchandise Mart
