Randy & Shelly Tucker, owner-operators of the 72-foot charter yacht Three Moons, will be celebrating Thanksgiving at their home in Tennessee this year. Shelly says that Southern-style cornbread dressing has always been at the top of her Thanksgiving list of favorites, but this year she's going to go "outside of the box" and introduce family and friends to mofongo.
More from Shelly: What is mofongo? Wikipedia defines it as ultimately of African origin and traced to both Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisine. You’ve seen those lonely looking green plantains at the grocery store and wondered what to do with them? Well, I have the answer if you are looking for some down-home, island-style comfort food! Barring all carb-control, I think mofongo is a great replacement for mash potatoes, rice and other starchy side dishes.
There are two things we have to have every season when we travel through Puerto Rico on our way to and from our charter yacht in the Virgin Islands: mojitos and mofongo! OK, so maybe we have to have some tostones (fried plantains), rice & beans and lechon (whole roasted pig) too!
Typically, mofongo is served in a tall wooden pestle style bowl. Delivered to your table, the mofongo ingredients are prepared and then mashed with mortar in a wooden bowl.
Since I don’t have any tall wooden bowls, I like the adaptation of the recipe below:
Plantain Mofongo
Ingredients:
- 2 green plantains
- Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (not extra virgin)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 ounce bacon
- 2 teaspoons saffron broth
- 8 Jumbo Shrimp Peeled and Deveined
Procedure:
- To make it easier to peel the plantains: Under running warm water, cut off 1/2 inch from both ends of the plantains. Using a sharp knife, score the skin lengthwise in three different sections. Slide the tip of the knife or your finger under the skin and begin to pull it away, going from top to bottom.
- In a frying pan or deep fryer, heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil to 350º F. Cut the plantains into 1-inch pieces (or half-inch for smaller tostones), and add to the hot oil. Fry for about 6 minutes until they start turning golden and are tender inside. Remove from the oil, and drain on paper towels.
- Prepare the mofongo: Oil the inside of a deep wooden or glass bowl with the olive oil. Add the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and, with a wooden spoon, pound the garlic to a paste. Add half of the fried plantains to the bowl and pound to a coarse mash, incorporating the garlic paste as you pound. Add the bacon, saffron broth and the remaining pieces of plantain. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and pound to mash the newly added plantain and incorporate the others ingredients. Rotate the bowl as you go, pounding with a downward motion toward the sides of the bowl. Once the mixture is mashed, spoon it into a ramkin or 4oz bowls. After molding and smoothing out the surface, flip onto a plate. At this point the mofongo should look like a half dome.
- Saute shrimp in a little oil or butter and cook until done. Place over the Mofongo and top with the saffron broth.
Saffron Broth
Ingredients:
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 pinches of saffron
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1 cup organic chicken broth
- Salt
- Fresh green peas
Procedure:
- Thinly slice 2 garlic cloves while preheating sauté pan at medium temperature.
- Add butter and the garlic and bring up temperature to high.
- Sauté for a couple of minutes and add 1 cup of chicken broth, bring to a boil and add more butter until you have a nice and smooth consistency.
- Add 2 pinches of saffron and salt to taste. Allow saffron to incorporate an even color by stirring lightly.
- Lastly, add the peas and cook further a couple of minutes.
Three Moons is one of our favorite charter yachts in the Virgin Islands. Our only problem with them is that they are difficult to book because they are very popular and their calendar fills up quickly :)
Charter Yacht Three Moons - Caribbean Sailing Vacations in the Virgin Islands
Three Moons is a 72-foot Irwin ketch with a crew of three. Three Moons is fully air conditioned and has four double cabins with ensuite heads/showers. There's also the possibility of swapping out one of the double cabins for the forward cabin with twin upper/lower bunks, if that is better suited for the make up of your group.
Three Moons features "spa cruises" with massages, facials, manicures and pedicures at "normal" spa rates. Shelly offers a complimentary foot massage to guests. They have a 17-foot dinghy with 115hp motor, adult & kids waterskis, wakeboard, tube, kneeboard, snorkel gear, fishing equipment, floating mats, two 2-person kayaks, hammocks, 32-inch flat screen TV with Bose Theatre System in salon, satellite radio, internet where available, etc. Shelly has won many culinary awards and has published several cookbooks.
