A Recipe For Making Delicious Patacones

Patacones, a recipe that comes from Venezuela, can be prepared with different sauces, in order to enjoy each time a unique taste.

There are as many plantain recipes available as the imagination and creativity  allow. We offer here a recipe for patacones. This recipe is very methodical.

If you’ve never heard of delicious patacones , don’t worry, you’ll know it all here. Roughly speaking, this recipe involves frying and flattening thinly sliced ​​plantains. As you will see when you follow the recipe, it is quite a process with very specific steps.

The objective of this method is to change the structure and texture of the plantain: normally soft and sweet, the banana becomes stiff and crunchy. These new characteristics are the perfect base to create a recipe stuffed with a beef filling and a traditional seasoning from the Zulia region of Venezuela, the place where the patacones originate .

For those who are about to taste patacones for the first time, this preparation can be full of surprises. This recipe is certainly one of the few dishes where the main ingredient is fruit. But the seasonings and toppings in this recipe are just as important.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn a little more about a country through its gastronomic culture. We encourage you to time the time you spend preparing this recipe. It won’t take you more than twenty minutes, you’ll see. Get started!

The classic patacones recipe

This recipe is the one that arouses the most admiration. You have probably already seen it somewhere.

You have to fry the banana to make it crunchy as if it were French fries. Follow the directions below and then you will only have to judge for yourself.

Ingredients

• 4 banana plantains
• 1 cup of vegetable oil (250 ml)
• 3 tablespoons of salt (45 g)

The preparation

1. Start by peeling all the bananas. Above all, do not cut them into slices or in any other way. As for the classic recipe, we will use the whole bananas rather than cutting them into thin strips for example. Remember this!
2. On a frying pan, pour a drizzle of oil which you will then heat over medium heat.
3. When the pan starts to get hot (it’s best to place your hand over the pan to feel the heat), it’s time to move on to the next step.
4. Place a whole banana on the pan and brown on both sides. The objective is to obtain the characteristic golden color of the patacones and to harden the banana thanks to the chemistry of the oil.
5. After two minutes, remove the banana from the pan and set it aside for later. Repeat this step for the remaining bananas.
6. Flatten the bananas (still without cutting them) using a large plate, for example by putting all your weight on the plate.
7. Once all the bananas are flattened, plunge them back into the pan, then fry for five minutes.
8. If when you stick a toothpick into the banana it is hard and crunchy, the banana is ready!

The traditional garnish of patacones

you will pour the following preparation on the patacones.  All you have to do is season it with mayonnaise or another sauce.

Some people even add a touch of spice to make the patacones taste even more special .

Ingredients

• 4 beef strips (400 g)
• 1 tablespoon of garlic powder (15 g)
• 2 tablespoons of English sauce (30 ml)
• ½ white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon of powdered achiote (15 g)
• 1 cup of mayonnaise seasoning (250 mL)

The preparation

1. In a medium saucepan filled with water, put the slices of meat, salt, English sauce, onion, and a touch of heat (optional). Leave to cook for fifteen minutes over high heat.
2. When you see that the water in the stew is decreasing, stir a little with a wooden spoon, so that all the ingredients are well incorporated.
3. After a few minutes, check the taste. If you feel like something is missing, add a pinch of salt and some garlic powder.
4. Once it’s ready, remove the pan from the heat.
5. Pour this preparation over the patacones .
6. Season with mayonnaise or the sauce of your choice.
7. Enjoy your meal !