Sotavento Plantain Mash (Machuca de Plátano)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •4-quart pot for boiling the plantains
• •Large volcanic stone molcajete, metate, or heavy bowl with a machacador
• •Small clay cazuela or heavy skillet for seasoning the manteca
• •Low cazuelita de barro rojo veracruzano for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Peel the plantains

   Trim the ends from the plátanos machos. Score each peel lengthwise with the tip of a knife and pull the peel away in strips. Green plantain fights back. If the sap is stubborn, peel them under cool running water and use the edge of a spoon to loosen the skin. Do not use sweet yellow bananas. That is another dish.

2. 2

   Boil until tender

   Cut the peeled plantains into 2-inch chunks. Put them in a pot with the water and the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a steady simmer and cook 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides through the center without resistance and the edges begin to split. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain the plantains.

   A barely pintón plantain cooks a little faster and gives a softer mash. A fully green plantain gives more starch and more backbone. Both work. A black-ripe plantain will turn this sweet, and that is not the Sotavento botana.
3. 3

   Season the lard

   While the plantains cook, melt 5 tablespoons of the manteca de cerdo in a small clay cazuela or heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add the white onion and cook for 2 minutes, just until it softens. Add the garlic and chopped chile jalapeño. Cook 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring, until the garlic smells sweet and turns pale gold. Do not brown it. Burned garlic will bully the whole bowl.

4. 4

   Machucar by hand

   Put the hot plantains in a large molcajete, metate, or heavy bowl. Crush them with a machacador, pestle, or sturdy potato masher until the pieces break down into a thick, rough paste. Pour in the hot manteca with the garlic, onion, and jalapeño. Keep pounding. Add the reserved cooking water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mash becomes soft enough to scoop with a totopo but still holds ridges. Machucar means to crush with intention. No me vengas con atajos.

   Do not put this in a blender. The blades turn plantain starch into glue. The hand work is the texture.
5. 5

   Finish the texture

   Beat in the last tablespoon of manteca de cerdo while the mash is still hot. Taste for salt. The plantain should taste savory, garlicky, and round from the lard, with the chile jalapeño present but not shouting. This is not supposed to punish anyone. Not all Mexican food is hot. Some of it is built on starch, fat, and patience.

6. 6

   Serve as botana

   Spoon the machuca into a low cazuelita de barro rojo veracruzano. Drag the back of the spoon across the top so the ridges catch the lard. Scatter cilantro criollo and thin jalapeño rounds over the surface if using. Set lime halves and totopos de maíz nixtamalizado beside it. Eat it warm or at room temperature. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy plátano macho, not the dessert bananas you slice over cereal. Green gives a firmer, more savory mash. Barely pintón gives a little sweetness and a softer texture. Fully ripe black plantains belong somewhere else.
• •The chile is fresh chile jalapeño. Its name points back to Xalapa, Veracruz, even if today it is grown all over the country. Use a glossy green chile with tight skin. A tired wrinkled chile gives tired flavor.
• •La manteca es el sabor. You can use oil only if pork is impossible for your table, but understand the compromise: oil coats the plantain, lard becomes part of it.
• •Use thick totopos made from nixtamalized corn tortillas. Fragile bagged chips break before they reach the bowl. Ask the women at the market for totopos that can carry a heavy dip.
• •If the mash tightens as it sits, do not panic. Plantain starch firms up. Stir in a spoonful of hot water and a small spoonful of manteca until it relaxes.

Advance Preparation

• •The plantains can be boiled up to one day ahead. Keep them whole in their cooking water in the refrigerator, then reheat before mashing. Cold plantain is harder to machucar.
• •The finished machuca keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Rewarm it gently in a cazuela with a splash of water and a spoonful of manteca de cerdo, stirring until it becomes scoopable again.
• •For a picnic, serve it at room temperature with sturdy totopos and lime halves. Do not serve it cold from the refrigerator. The lard firms and the texture goes dull.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 145g)