Crispy Plantain Fritters

I need to give a little shoutout to my coworker, L, for this recipe. I was telling her that I love plantains but how I was traumatized by the ripe plantains at my grocery store because when I made maduros, they kind of tasted like bananas. But I also wasn't that big on making tostones during the week because they were so labor intensive.

L said her favorite preparation of plantains was when they were grated and fried. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head and that weekend during my weekly grocery shop, I bought a plantain to give it a go. The results were fabulous and I can't imagine pounding tostones ever again. No, that's a lie; I still love tostones but with this crazy simple preparation, I can't imagine pounding tostones all that often anymore.

Ingredients:
plantains
+ oil for frying
salt & pepper, to taste

This is honestly the easiest recipe. It's not even really a recipe; it's just a method. Basically, you just grate the plantain on the coarse side of the grater, heat up a pan with a little oil, place little heaps of grated plantain on the pan, and fry on both sides for a couple of minutes until crispy. Set them on a paper towel to drain off the excess oil and then serve while they're still nice and hot and crispy.

The first time I made these, we enjoyed them with some spicy baja fish tacos. We really love fish tacos in our house because I made them with chilean sea bass and they turn out amazing, but the plantain fritters really stole the show this time around. They're soft and carby on the inside but the shards of plantain poking out are supremely crispy and they make the perfect side dish to any Latin American meal. And lately, I've been thinking about making one giant fritter and topping it with black beans, pico de gallo, queso fresco, chopped cilantro, and some chopped avocado for a fun take on a tostada. I'm making a mental note to make this and blog it soon. Or at the v. least, I'll blog it for cinco de mayo.

Here's the recipe page: