Name: Tostones De Plátano
Ingredients: 3 or 4 green plantains, peeled and cut at a slant, so that a medium-sized plantain yields around six pieces; garlic; salt; ground pepper; ground oregano)

Why it works: Garlic and oregano are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,756 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Tostones De Plátano

Ingredients

3 or 4 green plantains, peeled and cut at a slant, so that a medium-sized plantain yields around six pieces
garlic
salt
ground pepper
ground oregano)

Directions

Fry

Fry the plantain pieces in a deep pan over medium to medium-high heat until they begin to turn crisp, frying a few at a time.
Remove the pieces, set them on a firm surface, and press each with a hard instrument (e.g., roller) until flattened thin and elongated.
Return the flattened pieces to the frying pan and continue frying until they look quite crisp; remove excess oil by placing them on paper towels.

Serve

Serve as a side dish in place of French fries.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

15Calories

1 gProtein

0 gFat

4 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Plantain	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pepper + oreganotop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,449 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Green plantains: Starchy base that fries into a firm, crisp-edged piece with a mild, savory flavor.

The step that matters

Pressing the flattened pieces. Pressing before the second fry thins each piece so it crisps through rather than staying soft and starchy in the middle. Frying the pieces only once leaves them dense and doughy.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, oregano):

Cuminfits better
Basilfits better
Marjoramfits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, oregano. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Tostones De Plátano