Chicharrones de Pollo with Mashed Plantains

We're jumping right in to Dominican week with a double-shot!

Tonight, we had my baked version of chicharrones de pollo. I used the same marinade and seasonings but lightly breaded and baked them instead of frying them. As a side dish, instead of traditional tostones (twice-fried flattened plantains), I prepared a recipe for mashed plantains that I found using my "Big Oven" iPhone app.

If you've never tried plantains, you really should. When they're green, they're used as a starchy potato-like vegetable. When they're ripe, they're sweeter like the bananas they closely resemble. In fact, botanically speaking, plantains and bananas are essentially the same plant.

Here's how I made my dishes.

Marinate 2 big chicken breasts, which I cut into large fingers, for about 3 hours in:

The juice of 2 limes

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

When you're ready to start cooking, peel 2 green plantains and cut them into chunks. In a saucepan, cover them with water, bring them to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes till fork tender.

Then, in a shallow dish, beat 2 eggs with a little milk. In another shallow dish, mix together 1 cup each of panko and regular bread crumbs with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp paprika, salt and pepper till the oil is distributed through the crumbs. (I added the oil to help them brown in the oven, but you can eliminate that ingredient if you want.) Dip the chicken pieces in the egg then the breadcrumbs and arrange them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes in a 375° preheated oven.

While the chicken is baking, prepare the topping for the plantains as follows.

Oil, butter or margarine
1 small onion, finely diced
½ bell pepper, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tomato, finely diced
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Sauté the onions, pepper and garlic in the oil over medium-high heat till slightly softened and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the tomatoes and vinegar. The recipe suggests crowning each serving of plantains with a poached or fried egg, but I skipped that step.

When the plantains are ready, drain them but save some of that water. Mash them, using the cooking water to achieve the consistency you want. Add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, if desired. (You also could add some shredded cheese, but I didn't think of that when I shopped...)

Buen provecho! (Enjoy your meal!)