Mofongo is one of those recipes which is infinitely variable once you grasp the idea. You can go crazy with variations, but I made a pretty basic vegan version:
1. Fry some tempeh bacon and set it aside. Out of laziness, I used a 7 oz package of the pre-marinated stuff from the grocery store. I will shamelessly confess that I have often made this with vegan bacon bits (the kind in the jar which you sprinkle on salad).
2. In the same skillet, fry 2-3 T chopped garlic for a couple of minutes. Set aside, and mix with 1 - 1 1/2 t salt. Go easy on the salt. You can always add more.
3. Peel and chop 4 green plantains. The incredibly phallic green tool in the photo is an E-Z Peeler, which makes short work of the task. Fry the plantain pieces until they are golden brown. I deep fried them in a cast iron dutch oven, as I had oil left over from making the Seitan Finger Steaks.
4. Toss everything (garlic, tempeh, fried plantain chunks, salt) into a food processor. Process until you have a fairly even texture. You won't get quite the same texture as if you mashed everything with a pestle, but, hey, it's a hell of a lot faster and easier. Taste, adjust salt as needed, and add whatever else you like, e.g. a bit of black pepper and smoked paprika. If it seems too dry, you can add a little broth and/or olive oil -- but not too much!
5. Form this mixture into balls (or a mound, but balls are more fun), and serve surrounded by the broth or thin soup of your choice. I used veggie broth stirred up from a commercial paste -- no big effort tonight! A sprinkle of parsley or cilantro and you are ready to eat!
1 comment:
YUM!! I love plantains. I need one of those penis peelers though. I HATE peeling them on their own!
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