Tostones with Mojo

I was feeling a bit down and out today, so naturally I turned to food for comfort. I decided to make tostones (TOAST-TONE-NES) with mojo (MO-HO).

Tostones are twice fried plantain chips. You should make them next time you feel you need a little fried joy in your life.

1. You cut the GREEN plantain into 1" slices going crosswise. You'll end up with a stack of fat poker chips.

2. You then fry them on about 3-5 minutes on each side until they are just starting to turn brown.

3. You then take them out of the oil, drain them, squash them with a tostoneria, or use a small skillet and press them down on a cutting board. Don't over press, you just want to flatten them to about half of their original thickness.

4. You then put them back into the oil and raise the heat and fry for another 5-8 minutes on each side, until they are a golden brown.

5. Drain them again on paper towel and season them with salt and pepper as soon as they come out of the pan.

6. You then pour mojo sauce over them. Mojo consists of two fresh garlic cloves, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper, pinch of dried oregano and two tablespoons of vinegar, and two tablespoons of olive oil. This is all put into a mortar and pestle and you grind away till you have a lovely paste/salad dressing, consistency.

The mojo part is optional. If you can't deal with mainlining garlic, then squeeze some lime juice over the finished plate.

I consumed about 15 tostones. I felt so much better afterwards. Thank you mom for teaching me how to make them.