As I walk by the bananas in the grocery store, the often overlooked plantains cry out “use us, use us” and I put my head down and quickly move along regretting that I never do anything with them. With the Cuban burgers on the menu I was thinking about Caribbean sides and I remembered something about unripe plantains being similar in texture to potatoes and I seemed to recall something about frying them. A quick search on the internet and I came up with tostones which sounded like a great side for my Cuban burgers. Tostones are essentially slices of unripe plantain that are fried in oil, flattened into discs and then fried a second time until golden brown and crispy. As I often do with fries, I was thinking of serving the tostones with some mayo for dipping, but I read that they are commonly served with a garlic sauce and then the idea of a roasted garlic mayo dipping sauce popped into my head.
The tostones were pretty easy to make and I found them much less temperamental that french fries are to cook. They came out a beautifully golden brown and they were nice and crispy and good! The texture of the tostones was very similar to that of potatoes and they made a perfect substitute for fries with the Cuban burgers. As good as the tostones were the roasted garlic mayo made them even better and it certainly was ‘lick the bowl clean’ good! I am definitely going to be making tostones again!
Tostones with Roasted Garlic Mayo
ingredients
- 2 green plantains (peeled and sliced into 1/2-1 inch pieces)
- oil for frying
- salt to taste
- 1 head roasted garlic (squeezed)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
directions
- Heat the oil to 350F/180C.
- Add the plantains and fry until semi soft and golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.
- Press the plantains into thin ‘chips’.
- Fry the plantains a second time until crisp and brown, about 3 minutes.
- Remove from oil, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
- Mix the roasted garlic into the mayonnaise and serve as a dipping sauce with the tostones.
I love tostones! I've never tried them with a dipping sauce, but your roasted garlic mayo sounds perfect!
I always notice the plantains next to the bananas in grocery stores, but I never buy them. I should try this recipe sometime!
Each time I come to your blog my mouth starts watering and my tummy starts calling out Carla feed me feed me!
I am so going to try this dish. I have not had tostones but will now.
These look delicious..I have never tried tostones. I think I will now! 🙂
hi kevin,
your tostones look so yummy .. there are many indian recipes with raw plantain and we relish it with rice.
i have one recipe a starter you would love to try http://superyummyrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/06/raw-banana-tikka-cutlet.html
with indian spices that u will find easily in indian stores…the raw plantains will never cry out use us use us : )
Satya
http://www.superyummyrecipes.com
I love tostones! I have even made some great plantain chips! They were so easy I'm ashamed I haven't made them sooner. My problem is using the plantains while they are still green!
oh my gosh. this looks fantastic – i have to make this!!
What a great recipe for tostones! Thanks for the recipe and thanks forthe indian recipe site by Satya!
~Garret
Plantains with mayonnaise-such a unique and creative combo!! I'll be looking for plaintains to try this out 🙂
Çok güzel, çok leziz ve iştah açıcı görünüyor. Ellerinize, emeğinize sağlık.
Saygılar.
Tostones have to be one of my most favorite things to eat! I would love to try that garlic mayo with them. (I prefer plantains to bananas anyday!)
I love roasted garlic mayo even in fries!
THIS is the good stuff! I love the idea of garlic mayo! Must try.
You really know how to make people hungry! Love the colour on your tostones.
Actually, I think I will make some of this for dinner this evening. Thanks for the inspiration Kevin!
you make the best apps kevin. i would totally eat these for breakfast. i haven't been baking at all because of the heatwave.
What wonderful look this Kevin, really nice! gloria
I have never had this before but the idea of the plantains with the garlic mayo sounds so amazing!
This inspired me to make roasted garlic and roasted garlic mayo for some zucchini pancakes. It was delicious! Do you have any tricks for how to store the garlic once you've roasted it?
Ooooh….love me some tostones!!
Kev, after my first fry, I drop them in salted water quickly. Then back for a second fry. They get crispy and have a salty flavor throughout.
While you're on the subject of tostones, have you ever heard of Mofongo? Check it out. You might like it.
Carmen
Very nice. Next year when I plan my annual Cuban dinner, I will plan to cook and this.
Lindsay: My roasted garlic has never lasted long enough to need storage. It's just too good! 🙂 It should keep a few days in the fridge if you put it in a sealed container.
Baking is my Zen…sweet nibbles for the soul: I will try the salted water trick next time! Thanks for the tip! Looking up mofongo now.
Mmmm…yummy. I'm really digging the roasted garlic mayo!!
These are such a great snack!!
OK, so you are inspiring me to get a little more adventurous, ingredient-wise. I actually made fried green tomatoes for the first time ever this last week! Now on to plaintains…
Definitely going out tonight to find some Plantains!
Becca
Yum they look good and I love the dip! I must say I've never heard of such a thing as tostones before – thanks for sharing.
Brilliant idea to put a whole head of roasted garlic in with the mayo!! I'd definitely finish that whole plate.
Hmm… I am already planning a cuban-themed party just reading this. Mini cubanos, too!
Tostones are a must order dish when I am at a cuban place. I haven't had them in ages since there aren't very many cuban restaurants in the bay area.
I have to suggest that you make your own mayonnaise though. It makes a world of difference in the taste. Store bough mayonnaise is practically a whole different food! Here is a recipe for it that I put up recently. It's not hard at all! You really should give it a try with these tostones.
Gabi: Homemade mayonnaise is definitely on my list to try! Thanks for the link!
Yum!
Kevin, your recipes are great! Can't wait to try this one. Given your creative recipes, i'd love it if you participated in an event I am running on my blog this month where I would like to hear from readers about innovative recipe ideas. http://www.eatomaniac.com/2010/07/chile-rellenos-exotic-stuffed-peppers.html
Hello Kevin,
I grew up eating fried plantains but I never really used any dips so I'll have to try that one.
Another thing you can do is buy slightly ripe plantains (they are usually yellow but not as much as bananas) so they will be sweet when cooked and eating them with either boiled/fried eggs or with fish and meat.
Sherley
Mmm.. I love tostones. My cousin's wife made them a few years ago at Thanksgiving.. I don't think they ever made it to the table!
This is my all-time favorite! I always make some if I have the time!
I have wanted to make these for a while now. I finally did it tonight. They were definitely as good as I expected! The garlic mayonnaise made them even better.
Have you ever heard of/made a jibarito? It's a sandwich made from fried plantains in place of bread. The plantain is sliced lengthwise, but otherwise cooked like a tostone. It's filled with garlic mayo, steak (usually, but other meats are acceptable), lettuce, tomato, and onion.
katiem030: I had not heard of the jibarito before, but it sounds good!