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Mashed Plantains and Pork Rinds

A Puerto Rican dish of mashed plantains mixed with pork rinds, garlic, stock, and fat.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Garlic and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 25,665 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Mashed Plantains and Pork Rinds

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the plantains

  1. Peel the plantains and cut into 1‑inch diagonal pieces.

  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet.

Fry and flatten

  1. Place the plantains in the oil and fry on both sides (approximately 3½ minutes per side).

  2. Remove the plantains from the pan and flatten them by placing a plate over the fried plantains and pressing down.

  3. Return the plantains to the hot oil and fry 1 minute on each side.

  4. Place the fried plantains on paper towels.

Mash and season

  1. While the plantains are still hot, use a mortar and pestle to mash them with the garlic, fat, and stock or broth.

  2. Add the chicharrones, salt, and pepper to taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

582Calories
27 gProtein
52 gFat
1 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Plantainnot in our table0

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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

  1. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Clove + olivetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Pork + olivetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,716 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  5. Pork + garlictop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,169 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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

What each ingredient does

Plantains
Starchy base that fries to a firm exterior and mashes into the dish's body.
Pork rinds
Add savory crunch and body to the mash, thickening it as they absorb liquid.
Garlic
Adds pungent aroma and savory flavor to the mashed plantains.
Stock or broth
Adds moisture and savory flavor, helping the mash hold together.
Fat
Adds richness and carries flavor, softening the mash texture.

The step that matters

Flatten and re-fry the plantains. Pressing fried plantains flat exposes more surface, so the second frying browns and crisps them. Frying hot, flattened pieces gives a sturdy texture that holds up to mashing.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, garlic, olive):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, garlic, olive. 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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