Patacones or fried tostones are delicious fried green plantains, very popular in some countries. Discover how to make them easily with this original recipe.
Although in Spain it is very common to make fried plantain when it is well ripe, in several Latin American and Caribbean countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, Cuba or Puerto Rico the well-known like patacón or tostón.
It consists of a delicious and rich meal made from flattened green banana pieces, which are fried in hot oil. In fact, it is necessary and very important that the banana is green, since if we opt for the ripe fried plantain, the result will obviously not be the same.
However, we are faced with a delicious and very nutritious dish or dish that is made with banana, ideal to accompany any other main dish. Do you dare to prepare it? Discover the ingredients you need and the steps to make it easily at home.
How to make fried green plantains (tostones or patacones):
Ingredients
- 4 or 5 green bananas
- Salt
- Oil for frying
Preparation of fried green plantains
- First of all we are going to proceed to cut the bananas. To do this, cut the two ends, then cut them into small portions.
- Separate and remove the banana peel.
- Put oil for frying in the pan and put it on the fire. When the oil is hot, add the banana pieces and fry them a little.
- Then take them out of the pan and set them aside.
- Mash the bananas while they are still hot. You can use a pataconera or if you do not have it the bottom of a glass. Flatten them carefully to prevent them from falling apart.
- Add salt on top of the banana slices to taste. Booking.
- Reheat the oil over high heat and when it is hot again add the crushed banana slices. Fry them until golden brown, simmering for 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
- To finish, put absorbent napkins on the plate and being careful not to burn yourself, remove the patacones from the oil.
Some useful tips to make the best patacones or toscones
Although it is an apparently simple dish to make, the truth is that to achieve a good result it is necessary to take into account some important basic tips. Take note:
- Bananas are advised to be green. If you have bananas but they are not green, you can use bananas that are starting to yellow a bit. The reason is that if you use ripe bananas, when you crush them they will tend to break apart.
- When crushing green bananas you must do it carefully, since although they are green they are usually harder than ripe ones, when they are hot they are usually weaker.
We hope you enjoy this wonderful recipe. Ah! And remember that it is an extremely versatile dish, which can be used to accompany meat or vegetable dishes.
