Tostones (Caribbean Islands)

      In the many islands that lie in the Caribbean sea there is a word among the Spanish speaking people there is a cuisine that has lasted for hundreds of years.  This is the cuisine known as Taino.  The Taino were a group of natives to the islands of Cuban, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic etc.  Their diet primarily consisted of island fruits, vegetables, and roots.  One such fruit was that none as platonos or as they are called in English plantains.  Then after years of Spanish domination the people of these islands finally came to fry the fruits in oil which gave them a rather unique taste.
      The result of frying plantains in oil resulted in a dish known as Tostones which is to the Caribbean people as tortilla chips are to Mexicans.  The technique to making a perfect Tostone is to fry the chips twice.  The plantains are first sliced thick, deep fried in hot oil, removed from the oil and smashed down ( I use a saute pan), then the flattened plantain is fried again.  After the cooking process is complete you can serve the chips in more than a dozen ways.
      In my mothers family Tostones are always served as a side dish to any one of our more authentic meals.  But when I serve Tostones to any non-Puerto Rican guests I serve them as a finger food.  Then where other place a slew of peppers, onions, avocados, and sour cream I make a simple avocado sauce for the guests to dip their Tostones. 

Tostones with Avocado Sauce

5 large plantains
Salt to taste
Oil for Frying
3 tablespoons canned tomatillo sauce
2 large ripe avocado pitted, peeled, and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons minced white onion
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1/4 cup cilantro
1/2 cup sour cream

Peel the green plantains (unlike bananas they turn green when ripe) cut each plantain into 1/2 inch thick slices.  In a large fry pan fry the plantain pieces in oil that is about 325* on a candy thermometer.  Fry the plantains until golden brown then remove to a paper towel lined plate.  Place the fried plantains into a plastic bag (you may have to repeat this process many times depending on the size of the bag you use.  Using a saute pan smash the chips so that they are slightly flattened.  Return the chips to the oil to fry for another 2 minutes just until golden brown.  Remove from the pan to a paper towel lined plate to drain.  Salt the Tostones to taste.

In a blender combine the tomatillos, avocados, onion, garlic, and cilantro.  Fold the avocado mixture into the sour cream and place in the intended serving bowl.  Place the Tostones on a serving platter with the avocado sauce in the middle and serve immediately.

Serves 12

Note: if you want to have these chips ready ahead of time you can perform the first fry of the plantains and place in a parchment paper lined container separated into single layers.  They will only keep for about two weeks though.