Tostones, or patacones, popular in Latin American and Caribbean cooking, are slices of unripe green
plantain that have been fried, smashed, then fried again until crisp. They are usually served as a snack,
or alongside a main dish.
A plantain is not a banana: it resembles one, but it is starchy and must be cooked before eating. This
recipe calls for very little and is not at all complicated — tostones are also an excellent alternative
to crisps.
The double frying is not repetition: the first cooks the plantain, the second, after smashing, makes it
crisp.
To top them, try a tropical salsa, a pico de gallo, a garlic
sauce, a chimichurri, or a simple mix of mayonnaise, garlic and ketchup.
Tostones, Fried Green Plantains
Rounds of green plantain fried, smashed, then fried again until golden and crisp.
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total time
25 min
Course: Sides
Cuisine: Latin American
Keyword: Tostones
Calories:
Ingredients
Servings:
4
servings
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a cast-iron or non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot enough, once it starts to sizzle, lay the plantain slices on one side for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Make sure a good half of each piece sits in the oil.
- Turn the slices over and fry them the same way as the first side.
- Lift them out and drain on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
- With a flat wooden spoon, smash each piece of plantain to about 12 mm thick.
- Fry the smashed plantains for about 3 to 4 minutes in the same pan, until golden on both sides.
- Lift out, drain on kitchen paper and season with salt.
Nutrition (per serving)
Tips
- Use properly green plantains: ripe ones turn sweet and will not hold when smashed.
- Wait for the oil to sizzle before the first slice, or the plantain soaks it up.
- Smash to 12 mm, no thinner: flattened too far, tostones break on the second frying.
- Salt them straight out of the second frying, while the surface is still oily.
- The oil can be kept and reused.