How to Make Tostones

Tostones are pieces of plantain that have been fried, smashed and fried again. Tostones are very commonly found in Carribean, Central American and South American cuisine and are especially popular in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic where my mother is from. To make these double fried plantains you'll need a Tostonera which is a wooden paddle with a flap and an indent in the center. 

You can find these online for very inexpensive. If you live in Eastern Massachusetts, a lot of Market Baskets carry them and place them near the plantains (the Burlington, MA Market Basket is where I got mine). If you don't want to invest in a Tostonera, just use two flat surfaces like a cutting board and the back of a small skillet to flatten the plantains.

How to Make Tostones

Cook these Tostones in batches of 2, 4 or 6. You'll fry 2 plantains at a time so it makes sense to make them in even numbers. Six will give you quite a lot!

Add 36 oz of canola or vegetable oil to a wide pot and heat. In the meantime, prepare the plantains.

First make sure you bought a plantain and not a really green banana. Plantains are have a very tough peel and a starchy smell to them. Or ask your grocer for help. Also buy plantains that are green like the one above and not ones that have ripened. Those are yellow/brown and are too sweet for Tostones but delicious for other recipes.

Cut off the top and bottom of the plantain at an angle. Discard those pieces.

The peel of a green plantain is very tough to remove. It's not at all like a banana. My trick to getting the peel off is to cut open a slit lengthwise down one side.

And then down the other.

Get your thumb underneath the peel and start coaxing it away from the plantain. Discard peel.

Cut each plantain into six even slices at a diagonal. Above there are twelve pieces from two whole plantains.

When the oil is hot, add the chunks of plantains. I do this 2 plantains at a time. You can check to see if the oil is hot enough by testing it out with one piece of plantain and see if bubbles immediately for around it. If they don't, remove the piece of plantain and test a little later.

Cook the plantain for 2-3 minutes with the oil over medium heat. If you are brave, cook for 1-2 minutes over higher heat. Once the plantain starts to become golden brown, it's time to smash!

This process has to be quick so make sure you set up everything before hand. Get some paper towels down and put the tostonera on top. Make sure you have tongs handy too. Add the plantain to the tostonera.

Close the lid and SMASH!

This is what the end result looks like. Scrape off the smashed plantain with your tongs. Be careful not to break the plantain. Then add it back to the oil. Do this to all of the plantain pieces.

Fry for a couple more minutes.

Until they are crispy and golden.

Place them hot tostones on a plate with paper towel and salt them when they are hot. Continue with the other plantains if you are making more. You can add a paper towel over one layer of tostones to add the next batch so they all stay on one plate. Serve hot!

Tostones are great with

1) Ketchup or a Remoulade

2) Tuna (I know this sounds gross but it's really good)

3) Avocado slices or Guacamole

4) served alongside Rice, Salad and Steak or Sautéed Fish.

Buen Provecho!

To Make Tostones You'll Need

36 oz of vegetable or canola oil

a wide pot

a tostonera

2, 4 or 6 plantains

a pair of tongs

paper towels

plate

Steps

1) Heat up 36 oz of oil in a wide pot over medium heat

2) Cut plantain top and bottom at an angle, discard

3) Cut a slit in the peel lengthwise on both sides

4) Coax peel away from plantain with your thumb, discard

5) Cut each plantain into 6 even slices and at a diagonal

6) Test oil with one plantain, if it sizzles it's ready

7) Fry two plantains at a time or 12 slices at a time

8) Fry 2-3 minutes or until it starts to get golden

9) Smash in tostonera and scrape off. Return to pot

10) Repeat with all of the plantain chunks

11) Fry smashed plantains until crispy and golden brown

12) Place tostones on top of plate which has been covered with paper towel

13) Salt while hot

14) Serve while hot

Chopping Honey Dew Melon

It's not really time for Honeydew Melon, but when I saw halves on sale for a good price at my favorite place to buy produce, Wilson Farms in Lexington, MA, I couldn't help but buy one. One of my pleasures during the summer months is making melon fruit salads. I usually keep it simple: honey dew melon chopped into chunks with one other fruit. The pale green of the melon contrasted beautifully with the bright red of soft raspberries or the dark blue of blueberries. Since the store also had some nectarines for sale, I thought I'd make a melon and nectarine salad.

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is chop produce. I simply adore chopping. My all-star is the onion, which I can chop into a lovely dice within seconds (no tears involved). The most complicated may be the pineapple as it's a multi-step process, but the results are juicy and delicious and worth the effort. Melons are a bit tricky and I find that people take the easy way out and just halve the melons, slice them and then run their knife down the peel until they get lunar crescent shaped pieces which they then chop. I like to prep my melons a different way.

If your melon is not already halved, go ahead and cut it down the middle and prepare each half as directed below. Halving melons are tricky as those round buggers like to roll. You can always make a little slice into the peel at the waist of the melon to give the whole globe a flat resting point which stabilizes it on the cutting board.

1. Lay your half-melon cut side down on your cutting board. This keeps the melon stable. Cut into the peel on an angle with your knife.

2. Carefully work your knife around the shape of the melon, cutting off the peel. Don't cut too into the flesh as you'll lose some valuable fruit.

3. Once the melon is lovely and naked, halve it down the center with your knife.

4. Then create even slices down the length of both sections like so...

5. Then chop fruit into even chunks going the other way.

6. Now you have juicy chunks of Honeydew melon goodness.

7. Top it off with some Nectarine slices and it's the perfect salad for a hot sunny day.