Tostones (Fried Plantains) with Pineapple Salsa

I had such a hard time deciding what to focus on for this post. The pineapple salsa, so gorgeous with fish, also gorgeous made with ripe-right-now peaches? Or the tostones (twice-fried plantains), which are so easy to make, although if you’d rather have fresh corn tortillas, those would be heavenly too? Or the black bean spread, which was supposed to be guacamole, but my avocados were hard as rocks, therefore black bean spread? I was (am) all over the board, tempted to suggest in effect several of my favorite foods, all in one post.

So let me present them all as options and let you decide which combination of sweet, salty, spicy, crispy, chewy, and creamy hits the spot. Mix and match:

Tostones or fresh corn tortillas
Black beans or guacamole
Crab, halibut, or shrimp
Pineapple, pineapple + peach, or peach salsaPictured are tostones topped with black beans, pineapple salsa, and crab meat. It’s a pretty killer combination. I devoured them for dinner, but at two bites apiece (by my wolfy measure), they’d make a terrific party appetizer. Given canned lump crab meat, seasoned with ground cumin, fresh lime juice, and a bit of minced serrano chile, they’re ready in less than 30 minutes. If you rolled the goods in scorched fresh tortillas…15 minutes, easily. Heck, you could even pile it all atop store-bought tortilla chips, a flavor-crunch-explosion of an easy hors d’oeuvre if ever there was one.

That said, if you’re grilling anyhow, why not toss a couple of skewers of shrimp on ahead of time? Brush with garlicky oil, sprinkle with salt, and when they’re done, finish with squeezes of fresh lime juice. The guacamole angle would be pretty dreamy here. As would peach salsa.When I make the halibut, which I most certainly will get around to soon, I’ll pan roast it and top it with pineapple salsa and nothing else. It’s hard to improve upon the perfection of crusty-silky halibut.

You have the idea. Get started with the pineapple salsa and tostone recipes and have some spicy, crispy fun!

Pineapple Salsa

Makes about 2 cups

Can be made one day ahead of time. Refrigerate leftovers for up to three days.

1 ripe pineapple, trimmed, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 serrano chile, seeded and minced (more if you like more heat)
1/2 c. chopped cilantro (more if you like)
juice of 1 lime
salt

In a medium bowl, stir together pineapple, red onion, chile, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt to taste.

Tostones

Serves 4

2 large plantains (green for crispy texture; ripened to yellow for softer texture/sweeter taste), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
oil for frying (peanut, safflower, sunflower, or other high heat oil; coconut oil would add a lovely flavor)

Line a baking sheet or large plate with paper towels.

Pour oil two inches deep in a small saucepan. Set pan over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering and a small piece of plantain (added to the oil as a test) sizzles. When oil is hot, fry the plantain pieces, a few at a time, until lightly golden brown on each side. Transfer to baking sheet as you go. Keep oil hot.

When all of the pieces are fried, use a heavy saucepan to flatten plantain pieces, one at a time, between sheets of plastic, to about 1/4-inch thick. Fry the flattened pieces, a couple at a time, until deeply golden brown and crispy. Transfer to the baking sheet as you go, sprinkling them with salt while hot.

Serve the tostones immediately with your favorite toppings.