Here is a recipe straight from my wife’s culinary repertoire – even if she has never made it before! After hearing all my friends rave about mofongo after their trips to the Dominican Republic – and hearing my wife describe the deliciousness of this dish – I just had to make it. Well, she had never made, so I took the challenge of perfecting this dish while she is away on a short trip. This dish relies on mashing the fried plantains in a mortar and pestle and my wife actually gifted me with one recently (Hmmm, maybe she knew I would be tempted to make this for myself!) There are several variations of mofongo based on substituting the fried pork rinds (chicharrón) with bacon, chicken, prawns, or other seafood. I like this straight forward recipe pairing the mofongo with fried cheese and fried eggs. Are you ready for what I believe is my first fried dish? OK, let’s do this!

Prepare for frying
First, be sure you have a fire extinguisher handy. Better safe than sorry!
Prepare all ingredients
If pairing with fried eggs, take them from the refrigerator now so they will be closer to room temperature when frying.
Heat the stock (and cilantro, if using) in a small saucepan over low heat.
If pairing with fried cheese, cut the haloumi into 1/2 inch slabs and dry thoroughly with a paper towel.
In the preparation area:
Crush the garlic cloves with the salt and set aside.
Lightly crack the fried pork rinds into smaller pieces and place into a bowl.
Rinse the outside of the unpeeled plantain and dry.
Cut each end off the plantain, about 3/4 to 1 inch, then score down the center through the peel lengthwise.

Peel the plantain from the score outward. If necessary, score the other side to remove the peel.

Cut any dark spots from the peeled plantain before cutting into 3/4 to 1 inch segments.

Heat the oil in a frying pan to Medium heat.
Prepare a rack over a baking sheet lined with paper towels or a plate with paper towels to drain the fried plantains.
Fry, fry, fry!
Test a smaller end of plantain in the heated oil. If it starts to gently bubble, the temperature is right.

Slide each segment of plantain into the oil, cut side down, and fry on each side until golden brown and the center is cooked, approximately 5 minutes per side. When done, the plantain will feel soft in the center when pieced with a fork.

Remove cooked segments to the prepare drain area.

Smash and mash in the mortar
When all the plantains are done, remove the drained segments to the preparation area with the mortar and pestle.
Add a segment or two into the mortar and using the pestle crush them, add some garlic, crush some more, add some rinds, crush to integrate, add more plantain, crush, garlic, crush, rinds, crush, etc until all the segments and rinds are used.

Place the ball of mofongo onto a serving plate and cover with a towel or foil.
Finish the add-ons
Using the oil for frying the plantains, fry the cheese slabs until golden brown, approximately 3 minutes per side.
Remove the cheese to the draining area.

Increase the temperature of the oil to Medium/Medium-High.
Crack the eggs into the oil and allow the edges to pillow and create a crusty lace.

Gently spoon the oil over top of the egg to cook the top white, but not the yolk.
Remove to the draining area.
Put it all together
Uncover the mofongo and drizzle some stock over top, enough to wet it, but not puddle.
Place the cheese alongside and the eggs on top.

Enjoy!