Mangú (Dominican Plantain Mash)

Some cultures have really heavy breakfasts.   This was okay back in the day when you spent the rest of your day in the fields working on your feet.  But now after breakfast you just sit in front of the computer all day, which can lead to some problems if you're eating such heavy stuff. 

This would last you for a while.

Mangu' is a Dominican plantain mash that's served at breakfast.  You usually eat this with sauteed onions, fried egg, salami, or cheese. 

I came across this while talking to my Dominican friend, Leandro.  I was in NY and I was fascinated by plantains because you can't find that in Scotland.  I had seen plantains before and I had definitely read about them in recipes, but I had never cooked with them. So that was my chance.  He was telling me all about how they eat their plantains, usually cut into segments and fried, mashed and fried, rolled into balls and fried... so it was refreshing to hear about a recipe where it's not... fried.  

I, however, made the dreadful mistake of going for it on my own without consulting with him first.

So I'm going to tell you how I made it, and the way it should be made. 

See, I just browsed the web to get a general idea and cooked it.  I cooked the plantains in salted water, mashed it with a bit of cold water and butter.  Topped it off with some simple caramelized onions made with some sugar and apple cider vinegar, then finally a fried egg on top with some freshly ground pepper.

I read a couple of recipes and one recipe swears by using cold water.  He said his mother only makes it with cold mother and I wasn't going to disagree with a Dominican mother so I trusted that recipe.


It was good, it was good.  But then I told Leandro about it and he told me the way it should be made. 

Ingredients
1 unripe plantain, peeled and cut into segments
nob of butter
1 red onion, thinly sliced
lemon juice
brown sugar
2 eggs

Method
Bring the plantain and a pot of cold salted water to the boil, and cook until very soft.  Drain the plantain but reserve the liquid.  Mash it with a nob of butter and enough of that plantain water until it's..a bit more dense than a mashed potato. 

Fry the red onions in a little bit of oil until just softened.  Add a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of brown sugar. 

Fry an egg sunny side up. 


Mix the mashed plantain with the onions thoroughly so the onion flavor seeps through.  Top with fried egg.