Tostones with Seafood Salad

Tostones are found in various cusines from Latin America, especially those from the Caribbean, including Venezuelan, where great big slices of the twice-fried green plantain substitute bread, making the sandwich called a patacón (Puerto Ricans call it a jibarito).

To read about the Origins of Tostones, click here.

Note:  Tostones are made with ripe green plantains that can be found at any Latino bodega or supermarket.  However, if you’re overwhelmed by the sheer variety of bananas and plantains, ask the grocer or the ladies who are shopping for their own bunch of plátanos.

Photo: Joshbousel

Tostones rellenos is one of the Caribbean’s most traditional Latin dish. Roughly translated, tostones rellenos are stuffed tostones, or fried smashed green plantains. While some restaurants mold their tostones into cup form to literally stuff them with ingredients, the tostones are traditionally flat when prepared at home. The mixture of ingredients that you can choose to “stuff” the tostones with (ie. chicken, beef, sausage, vegetables, etc.) are simply placed atop of the tostone.

This makes for a quick appetizer for a party or a zesty side to any Latin dish. To save time, this recipe calls for ready-to-fry tostones that you can pick up in the frozen food section of your local Latin market. You can switch out the chicken for either sausage or steak as well depending on your preference. Read More