Don Diego's Mangú con costillitas fritas

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 6 banana(s), plantains (plátanos)
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp butter, soft
• 2 large onions, red, cut into thin rings
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 kg ribs (pork ribs)
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 5 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 35 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Dominican plantain puree with fried ribs

The invasion of the Dominican Republic in 1916 by North Americans was not organized by the tourism industry, but by the Pentagon. Nevertheless, it had a culinary and touristic side effect. It gave the country’s most popular breakfast its name, which remains true to this day. The hungry American soldiers were served a plantain porridge by the Dominicans, which, according to prevailing opinion, is of African origin and cannot deny its affinity with the West African “fufu.” The Americans’ spontaneous Standard & Poor’s rating resulted in a clear double-triple-O: “Man, this is gooooood!” or “Man, gooooood!”, which the locals conveniently Spanishized as “Mangú.” And that’s how it stayed. The plantain puree, Mangú, is usually accompanied by steamed red onion rings, fried salami, and fried cheese. As far as I know, the salami and cheese specialties used are not available in Germany. However, the composition of a breakfast plate can be complemented by the usual “side dishes” of a North American breakfast, such as egg variations, sausages, ham, or bacon, all fried “hot and fatty.” In this recipe, I chose plain roasted pork ribs, seasoned only with salt and pepper. Before preparing the mangú, peel the red onions, halve them, slice them into thin half rings, and sprinkle them with just a teaspoon of salt. Pour 2 tablespoons of wine vinegar over the onions, mix everything together, and set the onions aside. Plantains of all stages of ripeness can be used to prepare the mangú, including green (Plátanos verdes), yellow, and black (Plátanos maduros). However, the flavor of the dish and the cooking time will vary depending on the degree of ripeness. Ripe plantains are soft after just 5-10 minutes and produce a distinctly sweet puree. The riper the plantains, i.e., the blacker the skins, the sweeter the puree will be. Green plantains, due to their high starch content, taste closer to traditional mashed potatoes, without being completely similar. Cooking time is a good 30 minutes. Since I prefer a slightly sweeter version, I peeled yellow plantains, cut them into 3 or 4 pieces, and boiled them in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes. After testing the tenderness with a fork, I lift the plantain pieces out of the cooking water with a slotted spoon and place them in a separate bowl or in a food processor. I add 3 tablespoons of softened butter and 1 teaspoon of salt and mash/puree the plantains until they form a smooth puree. If the consistency of the puree is too thick, add a little more cooking water. Those using green plantains, which is the typical Dominican mangú, will definitely need to have cooking water on hand, as the cooked bananas will be a bit flourier. As with mashed potatoes, the added butter contributes greatly to the final flavor. Mangú is unthinkable without sautéed red onions. After draining the salt and vinegar brine, the onions are sautéed in a little oil in a pan, while the pork ribs are fried until crispy in a separate pan. Serve on a large plate with a generous dollop of mangú, topped with a heaping spoonful or two of onions. The pork ribs (or whatever breakfast items you prefer) are garnished next to it. Leftover mangú can easily be reheated the following morning by adding a little cold water to the mashed potatoes and stirring well while heating.