Recipe File: Mofongo with Seafood Stew

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Ingredients for the mofongo:
» 6 plantains
» 4 cloves of garlic
» Vegetable oil for frying
» 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
» 1 tsp. onion powder
» 1 tsp. garlic powder
» Salt & pepper
» 4-5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:
Peel plantains. Cut them into inch-thick slices and fry in oil over medium-high heat, until golden brown in color (remember to turn over the slices). Using a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic, bacon, onion powder and garlic powder together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Add the garlic mixture to the cooked plantains; mash until well combined.

Ingredients for the Seafood Stew:
» 1/4 c. diced onion
» 1/4 c. diced green pepper
» 1/4 c. diced jarred roasted red pepper
» 1 tbsp. minced garlic
» 1/4 c. diced tomatoes
» 1/4 c. chopped cilantro
» 1 tsbp. prepared sofrito (such as Goya)
» 1 c. tomato sauce
» 2 lbs. chopped fresh shrimp, lobster, scallops and/or calamari (or substitute a frozen seafood mix)
» 1 1/3 c. water if using fresh seafood (omit if using frozen seafood)
» Salt & pepper
» 1 tsp. onion powder
» 1 tsp. garlic powder
» 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
» Cilantro for garnish

Preparation:
In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion, green pepper, roasted red pepper, minced garlic, tomatoes, cilantro and sofrito in the olive oil for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add the tomato sauce; cook for five minutes. Then add seafood (and water if needed) and salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to taste). Cover and cook until seafood is cooked through, approximately five minutes.

To serve, spread the bottom and the walls of a soup bowl with the mofongo, leaving a hollow in the middle of the bowl. Spoon the stew into the hollow; garnish with a cilantro leaf, if you like.

Recipe courtesy Gretchen Chiques
Photo by Lawrence Luk for Express