Mofongo con Sopa de Mariscos (Plantain Mash and Seafood Soup)

I am here again ready to battle out another round of Foodbuzz’s Project Food Blog.  Thank you to everyone who voted for me!  You guys rock!  Your support and encouraging words helped me to get my tail in to the kitchen to conquer each weekly challenge.

When I saw all the wonderful submissions for challenge 3, I got a wee-bit nervous, but I lived to take on another challenge.  The competition is starting to get tight; so, it’s game time!  This challenge is something that I do frequently here on The Noshery.  So, I really hope I advance or I am going to have a bit of egg on my face…

The challenge prompt: Sure, you can take a pretty picture. But your task here is to go above and beyond and use photography to create a step-by-step, instructional photo tutorial. It could be anything from how to bone a chicken to how to make your favorite recipe, but your photos need to guide the reader through the steps. For this challenge, you’ll want to go well beyond the 2 photo minimum with at least 6 photographs.

After reading the prompt, I immediately knew what I wanted to make for this challenge.   I decided on one of my favorite dishes from back home in Puerto Rico, mofongo. Puerto Rico’s sister island of the Dominican Republic does something similar called mangu except it is made with boiled plantains instead of fried ones.  I say: “go fried or go home!”  This is the only way to go!

During my first year of college in Puerto Rico, I would periodically not attend my English class, which was the last class of the day.  My friends and I would meet up in the parking lot, pile into our junky cars, and make a trip out to Luquillo’s beach. We would lay out on the beach and soak in the sun. Worn out from laying in the sun, we would make our way over to the long row of kioskos along the roadside.  These roadside kiosks were filled with all the street food frituras that Puerto Rico is famous for and that make great lunch options.  One of my favorite dishes was a hot bowl of sopa de mariscos with a side of  freshly made mofongo.  It was one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon: sitting on a rickety picnic table, in the open sea air, enjoying a wonderful bowl of delicious sopa de maricos and mofongo. It beat sitting in English class–that’s for sure!

Here, I introduce to you my recipe for Mofongo con Sopa de Mariscos. I promise you are going to thank me a million times over for this one.  This is my comfort food.

Mofongo can’t be mofongo if you don’t have some crispy bits of pork in it.  Traditionally, you would use our version of crackling called chicharrones, except it is off of a pit roasted pig, instead of deep fried.  Unfortunately, I do not have the time, space, or luxury to roast a whole pig to get myself some chicharrones. Instead, I got a block of cured salt pork, which works out perfectly because it has the skin on it.

Rinse the salted pork under running water for a few minutes, rinsing off some of the salt.  Some say to soak it, but I find that rinsing it off works just fine.

Pat the salted pork dry with a paper towel.

Using a sharp knife, score the skin of the salted pork.  This helps to render the fat and get it nice and crispy.

Slice the skin off of the cube of salted pork and set aside.

Using a very sharp knife, cut the salted pork cube into thin slices.  It’s bacon!

Lay the skin and pork slices on top of a cooking grid on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until it is super brown and crispy.  The pork skin will not be ready yet.

Raise the temperature to 400 degrees and bake the skin for an additional 25 minutes or until the skin is crispy, golden brown, and sounds hallow when tapped.

Coarsely chop the bacon and skin, set aside.

Now, get ready to handle some shrimps.  You want a 1 lb bag of 16-20 raw skin on jumbo shrimp.  They have to be raw with the skin on because you will be using the skins to flavor the soup.

Peel all the shrimp and set aside skins and peeled shrimp.

Do you know how to dice an onion?  You would be surprised how many people do not.  The easiest way to chop an onion is to cut it in half from top to root; cut off the top and peel; and then slice length wise , without cutting all the way to the root.

Now, turn the onion and cut crosswise and you have diced an onion.  Easy!

In a dutch oven or a large pot, combine 2 tbs of olive oil, 5 cubes of sofrito, and the onion.  Saute the onions for about 8 minutes or until tender.

Add 1 8 oz bottle of clam juice to the pot.

What exactly is clam juice anyway?  What is this “juice” that the clam is making.  Anyone? Anyone?

Add 2 cups of water, shrimp skins, and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to the pot.

Oh and most important, an envelop of Sazon con culantro y achiote.  This gives it a little extra “flay-vor”.

Raise the temperature and bring to a boil, lower the temperature and let simmer for 20 minutes.

After everything has simmered and everyone has had an opportunity to get to know each other on a more deep and intimate level, use a slotted spoon or fry basket to fish out the shrimp skins.

Ha! Fish out shrimp skins . . . hey, I thought it was funny.

If you were smart, you would wrap up the shrimp skins in a cheese cloth and make a bundle and then you wouldn’t have to fish them out.  Apparently, I am not so smart.

Set the heat to medium-low and add shrimp and lump crab meat to the pot.  Let it stew for about 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Put the heat at the lowest setting, cover, and set aside until ready to serve.

Now it is time to make mofongo.  Mofongo is simply a mash of fried plantains.

Almost every time I go to the store to pick up a few plantains, someone in line or the cashier asks me what they are and how I prepare them.  They are quite a conversation starter and a great opportunity for me to plug my blog.

Plantains look like a big green banana and they are in the same genetic family, but they are different from a banana.  Bananas are soft and sweet, used mostly in desserts.  Plantains are much larger, harder, and are used in more savory dishes.  Although, they can be served sweet when ripe.  I love plantains because there are so many different ways it can be prepared.  Green or ripe–they are always a treat.

The most common question I get is how to peel a plantain.  A plantain, green or ripe, does not peel like a banana.  Here I am going to show you how to peel a green plantain.  This same technique can be used to peel ripe plantains (it’s easier to peel a ripe one than a green one).

First, you want to cut off both ends of the plantain.

Next, using a sharp knife with a short blade, score the plantain lengthwise on four sides.

Holding the plantain firmly, slide the knife blade under the skin, and gently pry the skin up.

Place your thumb under the skin and run it down the length of the plantain, separating the skin from the plantain.

Continue to do this with the remaining 3 sides until all the skin has been removed. Peel a total of 3 plantains.

Congratulations! You have peeled a plantain!

Slice the plantains into 1 inch slices.

Fill a large bowl with water and 3 tsp of salt or Adobo.  Add all the plantain slices to the bowl and set aside until ready to use.

Peel 4 cloves of garlic.  Lay your knife flat over the clove, gently hit it, and the peel will practically pop right off.

In a mortar and pestle (or what we call a pilon), mash 4 cloves of garlic, 3 tbs of olive oil, 1 tsp of white vinegar, 1 tsp of salt, and 5 peppercorns.

Mash and pound everything together until it looks like this.  You will get a bit of a work out, but it’s good for you.

Transfer the plantain slices to a plate lined with paper towels and pat dry.

Pour enough vegetable oil to cover the plantain slices in a deep skillet. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Add the plantain slices to the oil.  You may have to do this in two batches.  Fry the plantains for about 15 minutes or until golden.

Using a slotted spoon or frying basket, transfer the plantain slices to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Get ready to use a little elbow grease.

Place about 8 – 10 slices in your pilon. Mash the plantains.

Add some chicarron and mash it all together.  You may want to keep a spoon handy to help separate and mix.

Add a few more fried plantains and about 1 tsp of mash garlic.    Keep mixing and mashing in garlic until you get the taste you want.

If you don’t have a pilon, no worries.  You can mash the plantains in a bowl using a potato masher and fork.  Do not, however, put them in a food processor.  This will not produce the authentic texture of mofongo.  Also, if your pilon is too small, just mash the plantains in small batches, transfer to a bowl, and continue doing so until all the plantains are mashed.  Then mix it all together till well combined.

A final important note:  when preparing mofongo, you must mash the plantains after they are freshly fried.  Otherwise they can become difficult to mash.

Look and take in all those beautiful bits of mashed plantain and crispy pork.    Isn’t it beautiful?

Oh, and what is that in the back?

I can’t forget that soup I made earlier.  Large plump shrimp and crab meat steeping in a bath of deep rich broth.   This is truly a treat.  I can almost smell the salt air when I sit down with this bowl of soup.

My husband Obed likes his soup served with the mofongo on the side.

I like to make a big ball out of my mofongo and drop it right in the middle of my soup.   Look at it, sitting in the bowl of soup, surrounded by tender shrimp.  It’s almost like they are doing a choreographed synchronized swim around the mofongo.

I sat myself at the table, took a deep breath, and couldn’t help but smile.

The smell was intoxicating and literally transported me back to those early college days sitting in a kiosk, enjoying my food in the open sea air.

For me, mofongo will always be one of those great comfort foods that I crave every time I go home.  This is not one of those dishes you try to adapt and make healthy.  In fact, I would consider that blasphemous.  I love this dish the way it is…I don’t want no “faux-fongo”.  I want the real stuff, deep fried with crispy pork and all.  Because that is just the right way to do it.

I pity the fool who tries to mess with my mofongo!

Print Recipe

Mofongo con Sopa de Mariscos

Soup

• 1 lb of jumbo shrimp, with skin and raw (about 16-20)
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 large spanish onion, diced
• 5 cubes of sofrito
• 1 8 oz bottle of clam juice
• 6 oz pouch of lump crab meat
• salt to taste

Peel shrimp, reserve skins and set aside.

In a dutch oven or a large pot combine 2 tbs of olive oil, 5 cubes of sofrito and the onion. Saute the onions for about 8 minutes or until tender.

Add 1 8 oz bottle of clam juice, 2 cups of water, shrimp skins, sazon and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce to the pot.

Raise the temperature and bring to a boil, lower the temperature and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon or fry basket to fish out the shrimp skins. If you were smart, you would wrap on the shrimp skins in a cheese cloth and make a bundle. That way you don’t have to fish them out. Apparently, I am not so smart.

Set the heat to medium-low, add shrimp and lump crab meat to the pot. Let it stew for about 15 minutes. Add some salt to taste.

Put the heat at the lowest setting, cover and set aside until ready to serve.

Mofongo

• 1 12 oz block of cured salted pork
• 3 green plantains, peeled and cut into 1 inch slices
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• 1 tsp of white vinegar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 5 whole peppercorns
• vegetable oil
• salt to taste

Rinse the salted pork under running water for a few minutes, rinsing off some of the salt. Some say to soak it, but I find that rinsing it off works just fine  Pat the salted pork dry with a paper towel.

Using a sharp knife score the skin of the salted pork. This helps to render the fat and get it nice and crispy.  Slice the skin off of the cube of salted pork and set aside.

Using a very sharp knife cut the salted pork cube into thin slices. Lay the skin and pork slices on a baking sheet with a cooking grid.  Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until it is super brown and crispy. The pork skin will not be ready yet.

Raise the temperature to 400 degrees and bake the skin for an additional 25 minutes or until the skin is crispy, golden brown, and sounds hallow when tapped.

Coarsely chop the bacon and skin, set aside.

Peel and slice the plantains into 1 inch slices. Fill a large bowl with water and 3 tsp of salt or Adobo. Add all the plantain slices to the bowl and set aside until ready to use.

In a mortar and pestle mash, 4 cloves of garlic, 3 tbs of olive oil, 1 tsp of white vinegar, 1 tsp of salt and 5 peppercorns.

Transfer the plantain slices to a plate lined with paper towels and pat dry.

Pour enough vegetable oil to cover the plantain slices, in a deep skillet. Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Add the plantain slices to the oil. (You may have to do this in two batches.)  Fry the plantains for about 15 minutes or until golden.

Using a slotted spoon or frying basket, transfer the plantain slices to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

Place about 8 – 10 slices in your pilon. Mash the plantains.  Add some chicarron and mash it all together. You may want to keep a spoon handy to help separate and mix.  Add a few more fried plantains and about 1 tsp of mash garlic. Keep mixing and mashing in garlic until you get the taste you want.

Serve immediately with soup or broth of choice.

Tagged as: crab, mariscos, mofongo, plantain, shrimp, Soup