Homemade Colombian Patacones

Ever heard of fried plantains? Well these babies are on a whole new level as I had the honor of being shown how to cook them (and stack all the toppings) by my friend’s mom from Colombia!

This might be the longest recipe I have ever posted. But please, wait, don’t go! Today’s post is more about the experience because this isn’t just a recipe, it’s a story about how two of my friends’ moms visited from Colombia and showed me how to make real patacones! Patacones are fried plantains, just in case you weren’t aware.

Making patacones themselves is not a difficult process. You first cut them in half, fry them, squash them flat, and then fry them again. That’s the part I got to take part in, and yes those are my feet stepping on the wood planks to flatten the patacones. Nothing’s better than stepping on your food before you eat it! Sure you could buy a fancy press from the store, but I’m not going to deny the efficiency of this method. They actually told me the presses are more difficult to use.

But making the patacones is actually the last step of the process. While I could eat a pile of fried plantains by themselves, I’d like you to try to deny that assembly line of toppings shown in the photo below. They actually made all of those before I arrived and set them up in the order deemed best (gotta trust the experts)! I can’t believe they spent almost all day preparing everything and I felt incredibly honored to be their dinner guests.

It was such a fun experience and even better to devour all the delicious food while being surrounded by great people. Afterwards, I begged her to give me the recipes for pretty much everything. Since their mom’s are not fluent in English, my friend had to translate it for me, and now I am passing along the wealth of information. While I don’t think I could ever make them as good as they did, I don’t think I can wait until they visit again to enjoy them!

Two years ago: Easy Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake

Three years ago: White Hot Chocolate Pods

Five years ago: Cheddar Chili Cornbread Pasta Bake

HOMEMADE PATACONES WITH TOPPINGS

Serves 8

Ingredients:

HOGAO

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup finely chopped scallions (greens and whites)

2 cups chopped tomatoes

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

CARNE DESMECHADA

1 lb. flank steak (or ground beef)

4 cups water

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 cups hogao (see above)

1 tsp tomato paste

SOUR CREAM SAUCE

1 cup sour cream

2 scallions, greens chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

PINK SAUCE

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tsp brandy

Salt and pepper, to taste

GUACAMOLE

2 avocadoes, peeled and pit removed

1 small tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp lime juice

1 tsp olive oil

1 jalapeno, deseeded and finely chopped

1/4 tsp salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

PEPERONETA SAUCE

3 (red and green) bell peppers, julienned

1 small white onion, sliced

1/2 cup cubed tomatoes

2 Tbsp water

1 bay leaf

1 sprig of thyme

1 Tbsp ketchup

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp steak sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

RIPE PLANTAINS WITH CHICHARRON

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 very ripe plantains (the riper the sweeter), peeled and cubed

1/2 cup crumbled chicharron (pork rind)

PATACONES

Vegetable oil

8 green plantains, peeled and cut in half crosswise

MORE TOPPINGS

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

Fresh shredded mozzarella

Pico de gallo

Directions:

1. For the hogao, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and then melt the butter. Add scallions and tomatoes and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add salt and pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes until thickened. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.
2. For the carne desmechada, in the same pan, place the flank steak, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked through. Save 1 cup of the liquid used to cook the meat, remove meat from the pot, let it cool and shred with a fork. Place beef back in the pot with the hogao and 1 cup of reserved liquid. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.
3. While the beef cooks make the sour cream sauce, pink sauce, and guacamole. Mix all ingredients for each in separate respective bowls. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
4. For the peperoneta sauce, heat olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add peppers, tomatoes, water,bay leaf, thyme, ketchup, sugar, mustard, and cumin. Turn down heat to low, cover, and simmer until peppers are soft, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and thyme stem, stir in the steak sauce, and season with salt and pepper. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.
5. For the plantains with chicharron, heat oil in the same pan medium-high heat. Add plantains and cook until brown and caramelized. Remove plantains from the pan and place on paper towels to drain. Transfer to a bowl and mix with crumbled chicharron.
6. Wipe the same large pan clean and place over medium heat. Heat 1-inch of vegetable oil until hot. Fry plantains on both sides until the exterior is golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from oil, and immediately flatten (we put it in plastic bag and smashed between two boards by standing on them). Fry again until dark golden. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Serve immediately with prepared toppings.

Source: Recipe from Maria Lilia, translated by Juan, and adapted slightly from the internet (for measurements).