Breadfruit Tostones

This is another of the recipes related to my Foodbuzz’s 24,24,24 April event… A Very Veggie Experiment.

Tostones in Puerto Rico are typically made from plantains… but you can make tostones also out of Breadfruits.  We call them PANA in Spanish. 

Breadfruits are very polarizing – people either love them or they hate them.  For example, my dad does not eat them at all because in Cuba, breadfruit was given as food to the pigs.  And in his mind, he could not bring himself to eat pig’s food.  However, my grandpa on my mom’s side LOVED them.  He would always make a big deal when one of the breadfruits would fall from the tree behind the house.

It’s very typical to eat breadfruit boiled in salted water, just like you would boil potatoes.  But it’s not a root vegetable… it’s a fruit that grows on a tree.  It’s weird because you treat them in the culinary sense just like you would other VIANDAS or root vegetables- potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca, malangas, etc.  I guess it’s the same way as eating green bananas boiled too.  It is very traditional to eat them with codfish in a dish called serenata.  Now that we’re vegetarians, we enjoy them with some Tuno Antipasto on top, amongst many other preparations.

This time around we’re making them fried.  With the breadfruit tree behind my grandma’s house in full bloom and splendor,  I decided to expose Mariví’s kids to breadfruit.               

BREADFRUIT TOSTONES

½ breadfruit

2 garlic cloves

Kosher Salt to taste

Canola Oil for frying

You make breadfruit tostones the same way you make regular tostones…

1. First you cut the breadfruit in half and then into wedges.  Peel it and remove the center where the spongy part and seeds are.  Wash the wedges well under running water to take away any “mancha” or stickiness it may have.  Because the best breadfruits for tostones are still pretty “green” or unripe.
2.           
3. Cut them into smaller pieces and fry them in canola oil under medium heat until they’re cooked inside, but not really golden.
4. 
5. Flatten the breadfruit pieces using a tostonera or two plates like I use here.
6. If you’re making them to eat right away, fry them again in the same canola oil until they’re crispy and golden brown.
7. Sprinkle them with garlic salt and enjoy right away.

If you want to make a whole batch to freeze and save for a later time,

1. Fry them only once, smash them and wait until they cool off a bit.  Store them in a Ziploc bag in your freezer. 
2.  This is how they look fried only once and flattened…  a bit pale, no??
3. When you’re ready to fry them the second time,  defrost them in salted garlicky water and fry them again right before eating them.  Make sure you pat the dry a bit before frying so the oil does not splatter.

   These are breadfruit and regular plantain tostones side by side so you can notice the differences…

These breadfruit tostones were a complete hit!!!  Everyone wanted to be in the kitchen with me when I fried them and everyone gobbled them up.  Even the little ones went for the tostones first before they started on the fixed-up mac and cheese.

Tags: breadfruit