This is a quick and easy post of one of my favorite side items. Plantains are an awesome vegetable because there are countless different ways to prepare a plantain, fried, boiled or mashed they are always delicious. One of the most common ways of making a green plantain is to make Tostones. As a kid, I loved these things. I would probably eat more of them than I would my actual meal.
The name for tostones comes from the word “tostado” which means toasted. They are incredibly easy to make, and I have yet to serve them to a person who doesn’t enjoy them. I like to cut mine at a 1 inch diagonal, so they come out thin and crispy. If you cut them too thick, they can be dry. One crucial thing is that you cannot skip the first fry. Green plantains are very hard and they have to be par-cooked to be able to mash them. If you try to mash before the first fry, you are going to hurt yourself and end up with a mess.
I like mine with a side of mayoketchup. It’s a mixture of mayo and ketchup with a little garlic and salt. Some like their tostones with a side of ketchup or a simple sprinkle of salt. It’s up to you.
Trust me they will be all gone in just a few minutes. I have to hurry before Obed comes and steals them. He is hovering behind me….back off homes!
Tostones (Fried Plantains)
Ingredients
- 3 green plantains
- 2 cups water
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt
- vegetable oil for frying
I am from the south, .y mother would fix plantains and I loved them but never new how. Thank you, next trip to the store I’m going to give them a go. ?
Can I place the tostones in the oven to keep them warm before my guest get to the party.
Yes you can. 🙂
Unfortunately, tostones wait for no one. Within 10 minutes of frying them they will turn unappetizingly hard, even if you keep them warm. Trust me on this. It’s right out of the hot oil or nothing.
I just burned a batch,…….and they’re still delicious!
Thank you SO much for this superb instruction! I’m grain free (and dairy/soy/egg free) due to autoimmune disease and my doctor recommended I eat complex carbs like plantains.
I could NOT figure out how to cook them. It was like some bitter, strangely textured non-food the way I was making them. Then, when I followed your recipe, it was like breaded French fries! It satisfies the craving for so many things I can’t have – it’s bready (somehow), and potatoey, and buttery tasting, with all natural ingredients. Not to be over dramatic but this is a huge deal to me…I dream about breads and starches, lol…Thanks again!
You can also make mangú with green plantains, just peel the plantain, cut it in pieces put some salt in the water, boil it until is tender, salté some onions in olive oils, smash the plantains with a smasher you can add a little be of vinagre to the oil if you want add some butter or margarine put some of the water from the plantains and mix everything together you can eat it with Whatever you want, I hope you like it.
Just made a batch of these yesterday…but I topped them with a cilantro chimichurri. ¡Fabuloso!
OH!!!! que maravilla encontrar patacones aqui!!!!
Thank you indeed for the recipe
CAta
The best sides to eat fried plantains (Patacones in Costa Rica) is with refried black beans, pico de gallo and some guacamole. This is not a french fry, so ketchup and mayo are highly discouraged. Besides, doesn’t fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro and avocado sound so much better?!
I love tostones! My father’s family is Puertorican and these were a staple at my house growing up. We always have a tomato sauce with them. It has a dash of garlic, salt, and pepper. I am so hungry for them now! I also think I will have to try my hand at alcalpurrias-haven’t had them in a long time. They are my favorite!
What is the reason you soak the plantains in water. I was told to soak them prior to frying the first time. Just wondering what is the reasoning?
You don’t have to soak them before frying the first time. You only have to dip them in salted water before frying, it help to make them crispier.
I make tostones ahead of time, you can fry them the first time, When I mash them, I use a pilon which I am sure you have and stick the small end in the middle so it forms like a flour. I then soak them in garlic salt water and fry, they are very crunchy when done like that. you can dip them in garlic salt water then freeze and take them out as you need them.
Hola felicitaciones por el blog!! La verdad no lo conocía, tengo familia en Puerto Rico y he ido twice. Actualmente vivo en Uruguay (a mini country between Arg y Brasil Amo los tostones, son deliciosos!! Ahora voy a poder hacerlos en casa así que gracias!!
those look goooood! My picky 5yo happens to love tostones, the rest of us prefer amarillos (fried in butter, then seasoned with garlic salt). I’ll have to try making them this way, I hate frying but maybe it’s time I make tostones again 😉 Thanks for the reminder!
Oh, there’s a version of the mayo-ketchup sauce called Salsa Golf that I found in Elisabeth Lambert-Ortiz’s “Book of Latin American Cooking” that is seriously wicked good, you should definitely try it.
Now I know how to make moist tostones. Thanks for the tip! When I cooked them they were dry and didn’t know what I did wrong.
I love mayo-ketchup. Great tip. Nothing beats tostones. The Noshery rocks!!! Lol. ^_^
Hey try tostones (or aranitas, even sorullos) with Mayo-ketchup.
Mix a couple of tablespoons of Mayo with ketchup, add a mashed garlic and some ground pepper. Just adjust the quantities “a tu gusto”. Riquisimo