Patacones recipe: the secrets to prepare them like a master chef

Patacón, tostón, tachino or fried are some of the names by which this simple delight is known. Simple, or simple, because it is fried flattened pieces of banana green. Delicious, because the flavor and texture offered by this preparation seems to be the perfect complement to various dishes, but it can also be a snack to enjoy on its own.

I have always been one of the people who have loved eating bananas in different ways, probably because of my family from Piura, who always conquered my palate with chifles and a succulent dried chabelo. Over time, I ventured into new cuisines and got to know tacacho with cecina (one of my favorite dishes at the moment), one of the classics of Amazonian gastronomy.

Apart from enjoying plantain as an ingredient, I also enjoy cooking with it. So we wonder how to make the best patacones? To answer this question, Provecho had to turn to a total kingpin and who better than Juan Pablo Mansilla, chef from Huambra. This Amazonian food restaurant aims to show the best of regional cuisine and elevate it with more daring bets such as Amazonian tacos, a sacha mostrito or a paiche hamburger. So, we visited his kitchen and he shared his expertise with us.

The first thing we need to know is that to make patacones we need green plantains, as green as possible. When cutting it we must take into account two things: 1. It is difficult to do it with just the hand, a knife must be used and 2. It throws away a kind of substance that stains the hands and nails, so gloves or gloves can be used. , as the chef recommends, we can cover our hands with a thin layer of oil.

To calculate the size of the slices (or corks), Juan Pablo tells us that we can take two fingers as a measure. After cutting them, they must be fried, for the first time, in a pot with a considerable amount of oil. This first part will help the plantain to cook from the inside, so the heat must be medium or medium high and the cooking will last between 6 to 7 minutes.

Then, when taking them out, they should be placed in a container with absorbent paper of any kind, to avoid excess oil. To crush them we can use a bottle, a bowl or anything with a clean surface with which pressure can be exerted. The thickness of the patacon will depend a lot on the taste of each one, yes. You have to be careful when doing it, because it can stick to surfaces, but nothing that a small layer of neutral oil won’t solve.

The second cooking will be at a higher temperature because what is sought here is to give it that heat stroke so that each edge becomes crispy and delicious. There it is important to be very aware of the patacon and take it out when it has obtained an appetizing golden color. As in the previous step, it must be removed from the oil and placed on absorbent paper and at this point we add the salt to taste.

Once we’ve mastered this type of patacon, the chef upped the ante and showed us how to make two more styles of patacon, which he uses on his menu himself. They are the little baskets and the tostones. The first ones are made in the same way, except that they can be inserted into a lemon squeezer previously covered with oil and crushed to give it a different shape. In their case, they are served stuffed with a fresh and juicy cocona sauce that complements them perfectly.

The second ones can be a little more complicated, but they are worth it. The tostones or tortillas can be prepared in a tortilla pan, as he did, or we can flatten them with a rolling pin or bottle. Of course, it is best to put the banana slice between two plastic bags, because that way you will prevent it from sticking to any surface and since it is so thin, you can move it without fear of breaking it.

LEARNING TO FRY

As part of the visit/cooking lesson, Juan Pablo also provided tips for frying this ingredient and some of these can be adapted to other types of fried foods such as fried plantains or even chifles. One of the tips explains that during the first frying, to know if the plantain is ready, we must take two things into account: first, the color of the plantain has to change to a bright yellow; secondly, we will know that it is well cooked when the bubbles generated by the contact of the water with the oil begin to decrease and, finally, when we touch the patacones with the slotted spoon or utensil that is being used, we will feel that it is every more crispy.

If it is about seasoning fried foods there are also some tricks. It is best to use table salt because it is finer and can adhere well to food. And you also have to know when to add the seasonings. It is best to add them when the frying is just out of the oil, so it can adhere without problems.