Dominican Mangu

I first had Mangu at my mother-in-law's home.  What is it you say?  It is mashed up plantain with sauteed veggies, a fried egg and bacon (Canadian bacon in my house).  I fell in  love with this the moment I tasted it.  I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as my family does.  My version is a little different than my mother-in-laws, but has pretty much the same ingredients.

 

These are plantains.  They look like green bananas.  They are larger and the consistency inside is much more firm.  They are also comparable to a potato, I think.  For Mangu you want your plantains green.  The yellow ones are delicious sliced thin and fried in oil...they are sweet.  I'll save that for another entry.

 

To start put a large stock pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, cut off the ends of the plantain and use a paring knife to cut slices down the peel all the way to the plantain.

 

Peel the skin off of the plantain.

Here are what they look like completely peeled.

Cut in half.

Slice down the middle.

Slice down the other side.

Then cut into quarters.

They will not stick like bananas since they are firm, so just pile them up.

By this time your water should be at a full boil.  Put the plantains in the pot and boil for 20-30 minutes, until soft.  I judge this with a fork.  If it pierces it and drops off the spoon it is ready. 

While the plantains are boiling, chop half of a red pepper, 1/4 of an onion and 3 garlic cloves.

You can serve it with regular bacon, but I love Canadian bacon and so I use this in my dish.  Slice it and cut into small squares to be sauteed in a skillet.

In a skillet with heat at medium, add about a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Add the onion, pepper and garlic.  Saute until the onions are translucent...about 10 minutes.  Slide it to one side of the pan and cook the bacon.  If you are using regular bacon, you can make it in a separate skillet or in the oven.

When the plantains are ready (20-30 minutes boiling time), use a slotted spoon to place them into a food processor.  You can mash them by hand, but I find this gives them a much creamier consistency.  Add two ladles of the cooking water to loosen up the plantains as they will get really thick.  Add the pepper/onion/garlic mix and about 1 tsp each of salt and pepper.  You can also add a couple of tablespoons of butter at this time...or whatever type of oil you like.  We like butter.  Leave the mix in the food processor with the lid on so that it stays warm while you prepare the eggs.

Fry up your eggs and season them.

Scoop a large scoop of mangu, place a fried egg on top, and sprinkle with Canadian bacon.  I cut into mine and let the yolk cover my mangu!  I LOVE THIS BREAKFAST!  It is very filling too, so watch out!  This was just enough for our family of 4 (two adults and two kids...9 & 5).  My husband and son had seconds. 

Enjoy trying something new!