Platanos

Platanos…bananas…but it is so much more. In the Dominican Republic, bananas are everywhere, but usually looking at Platanos (plantains). The bananas I ate my whole childhood are referred to as guineo. There are many varieties of platanos, but the best are considered to be the criollos. I asked what the difference was an it seems they are firmer and larger. You need good green platanos to make the right dishes. Yellow is not good.

There are many ways to eat these platanos. My favorite is tostones. That is when the platano is sliced into small sliced, pressed and fried. There are a couple of steps…but delicious. You can slice them lengthwise and do the same. You can eat them boiled whole or in slices. You can mash them into mangu, much like mashed potatoes. You can also put the mashed bananas in a preformed shape with cheese, bacon or something else. That is mofongo. All of these are good. I often eat them with cheese.

Anyway…bananas, platanos, bananas