I had a lot of the Ropa Vieja leftover that I made yesterday. So today I reheated some, along with some of the black beans and rice and made some tostones and guacamole to go with them, and garnished with a little cilantro and lime:
Tostones are twice-fried green plantains. They are scrumptious and a common feature of both Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine.
To make them, first dissolve 2 T salt into 4 cups water and add 2 cloves of crushed garlic:
This is what a green plantain looks like:
Peel the plantain and cut it diagonally into 1-inch slices:
Soak the slices for 15 minutes in the salted water:
Then drain the slices on paper towels and pat dry, and fry in oil heated to 350F for 7 minutes:
Take slices from the oil and place on paper towels:
Fold over the paper towel and flatten each slice with the heal of your palm.
[NOTE: PR food was the comfort food in the Piurek/Bergstrom/Bauza household. I became the principal tostone maker because I was the most willing and able to squash the hot tostones with the heel of my palm between the two fries. There is such a thing as a tostone press to do it, but it is slow, and you can’t get the tostones as thin. All good Puerto Rican mamas do it with their hands. So proud to be in their company.]
Then dip each slice quickly back into the salted water and immediately place on paper towels and pat dry. Fry them a second time at 375F till golden brown:
Place the slices on paper towels again to drain. Sprinkle with salt:
Eat immediately while still piping hot, drizzled with a little hot sauce.
My comfort food. 😋