Mofongo, a fried plantain side dish from Puerto Rico

Last night I made this yummy plantain dish from Puerto Rico, which I dedicate to my friend Elizabeth, who was so kind to prepare the Andalousian spinach with garbanzo recipe of my grandmother.

First I lightly fried in olive oil 5 cloves of garlic and half a white onion, setting them apart in a bowl with cilantro.

Then I peeled and sliced the plantains, sank them for 15 minutes in salty water and fried them in sunflower oil.

I also fried 7 slices of bacon in a third pan.

Finally I mashed the whole thing with salt and pepper in a pilón (a granite mashing bowl, a present courtesy of our Mexican-Texan friends Rolando and Lucía), trying to leave the bacon in the inside.

The result was spectacular, a symphony of Caribbean flavors, I felt I was eating in a chiringuito (a beach joint) in San Juan or Bayamón (where my beloved Sevilla FC has a fellow soccer team), breathing the wonderful breeze of the beautiful island. Certainly a good experiment: two thumbs up!