Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

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Patacon (Fried Plantain Sandwich)

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This week I wanted to explore a food concept that I’ve never tried before – patacon, or a Venezuelan fried plantain sandwich. Wonderfully hot and crispy, the sandwich replaces bread with to thin slices of plantains that are smashed and deep-fried twice. The filling can consist of anything and varies from country to country as does the name it goes by (ex – in Puerto Rico it’s called a jibarito).

My version consists of shredded green chile chicken, topped with onion, tomato, cucumber, mayo, and hot sauce.

For the chicken, I start off with chopped up boneless thighs and breasts. I create a paste in the food processor consisting of cilantro, roasted cashews, olive oil, garlic, and jalapenos. The idea is quite similar to a pesto, in fact I’d call it a cilantro-cashew pesto.

I cook the chicken down for a while until shredded (you can save yourself trouble and do it in an instapot if you have one) and finish it off with lots of freshly squeezed lime juice.

For the plantains, I peel the plantain, cut them into thirds and deep fry them. I then use my tortilla press to smash them into a thin tortilla shape and fry them again. The second fry brings the plantain to life and prevents them from getting soggy from the filling. (I learned this trick from watching a special on Food Insider on youtube that explored authentic Venezuelan restaurants in NYC that served various patacon.)

You can add whatever you want to the chicken, I kept it simple with slices of tomato, onion, cucumber, and some hot sauce.

This sandwich is absolutely fabulous and a great introduction to Venezuelan/Latin American food (which I know is incredibly broad); if you’re gluten free you will want to make this everyday and if you’re not, well you won’t even miss the bread.

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Green Chile Chicken Patacon

A fried plantain sandwich stuffed with shredded green chile chicken

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

Green Chile Shredded Chicken

  • 2 lb boneless chicken (breasts and/or thighs)
  • 4 jalapenos may de-seed or add less if you want mild
  • 1 cup cilantro (packed)
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 Tbsp cashews
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • lime juice to taste

Plantains

  • 3-4 plantains
  • 1 cup canola oil (for deep frying)

Condiments/garnishes

  • 1 tomato
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 small onion
  • hot sauce, mayo, or salsa of your choice

Instructions

Green Chile Shredded Chicken

  1. Toast your cashews and set aside.

  2. In a food processor, add your cilantro, toasted cashews, garlic, salt, and jalapenos. If you do not want this to be too spicy, either de-seed the jalapenos or add less of them. Whiz up and slowly add a few tablespoons of olive oil.

  3. Add the green mixture to the boneless chicken pieces. You can let it sit and marinate for 30 minutes, though this is optional.

  4. In a hot pan, add the chicken. Allow it to sear.

  5. Once chicken is seared, add a few cups of water and allow chicken to cook on medium/low heat until shreddable. You may also do this in an instapot.

  6. Taste and adjust for seasonings. Add lime juice and black pepper.

Plantains

  1. Peel the plantain skin by cutting off the ends and taking a pairing knife and running it down one of the ridges of the plantain. (Tip – plenty of good instructional videos on youtube on how to do this properly!) Cut the plantain into thirds.

  2. In a hot pan or pot filled with oil, fry the plantain slices until golden brown.

  3. Once golden brown, remove and drain on a paper-towel. Using a tortilla press, smash the plantain into a thin disc. If you do not have a tortilla press, you can use your hands or a rolling pin.

  4. Fry again. You cannot skip this step or else the sandwich will not turn out right! The plantains will get nice and crispy.

  5. Remove and place on a paper-towel. Your sandwiches are ready to assemble.

Sandwich Assembly

  1. Place chicken filling on a plantain slice. Add tomato, cucumber, onion, and whatever condiments you enjoy. Your sandwich is ready to serve!

Indo-Cajun Seafood Boil

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Tandoori Seafood Boil from last year

Last year I did a seafood boil with a tandoori sauce and it was good, but I think this one with lemon achaar is even better.

Before I get started, I’d like to point out that the title here is misleading. I didn’t technically do a “boil” – although you can certainly do it that way. But after watching David Chang’s “Ugly Delicious” (one of the best food documentaries on Netflix imho) where David Chang argues that there are far better ways to cook crawfish than just boiling it in water and lemon juice,  and that the Vietnamese way of doing it – adding the seafood directly into the sauce as a stir-fry is far more effective for flavor, I am thoroughly convinced that this is the best way to do it.

shrimp head-on, more flavorful this way

The sauce is a quick version of a lemon achaar and uses lots of butter instead of oil; since this is technically not an actual pickle (which is what achaar is) and more of a gravy/sauce, there is no need to use solely oil since the butter gives it that richness that you typically find in the seafood boil cajun sauces.

I start off by adding loads of cumin and mustard seeds to a pan of melted butter (caution here as it does splatter), and then add in a bunch of lemon wedges. Yes we are adding lemon wedges directly into the sauce, just like how achaar will contain wedges. I sautee the lemon wedges and add several cloves of chopped garlic and a bunch of other spices – turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, fenugreek powder, and lots of salt. If you’re really down for it, feel free to add some msg in there too.

I then add the seafood directly into the sauce. I use shrimp and mussels here but feel free to use whatever you want. (Make sure to devein the shrimp and scrub/remove crap out of the mussel shells. Also discard open ones because they are rotten!)

The sauce is a slightly less saltier, buttery-rich version of lemon achaar – perfect to eat hot with seafood. You can serve it up in plastic bags as they do in many restaurants or on a plate or bowl. Feel free to also add in some corn and potatoes for good measure.

I also made some butter noodles on the side – my version consists of tindora and serrano chilies and tandoori masala.

Have several napkins and newspapers placed on the table for easy cleanup – this lemon achaari seafood boil is a feast waiting to be devoured.

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Indian Seafood Boil with Lemon Achaar Sauce

An Indian-inspired version of cajun seafood boil using a sauce based off of lemon achaar pickle

Servings 3 people

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lb seafood of your choice (I prefer head-on shrimp and mussels)

Sauce

  • 1 stick butter
  • 5 Tbsp chopped garlic
  • 2 lemons
  • 1 Tbsp mustard seeds
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp fenugreek powder (not kasuri methi, ground up fenugreek seeds)
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1.5 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1.5 tsp salt or to taste

Optional Ingredients

  • 1-2 corn ears

Instructions

  1. Clean your seafood. If using shrimp, de-vein using small knife or scissors. For mussels, scrub off dirt and remove any particles extending out of shell by pulling hard.

  2. For the sauce, cut your lemons into small wedges. Set aside.

  3. In a pan with melted butter (on low-heat), add in your mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

  4. Bring to a medium heat. Once you hear the mustard seeds starting to pop, add in the chopped lemons.

  5. Stir them around for a few minutes. Add in your chopped garlic. Cook down and add in your spices and salt. Taste and adjust for seasonings.

  6. Feel free to add more oil or butter to make the sauce thinner. Once the lemons, garlic, and spices have cooked down.

  7. For the seafood you can either cook it directly in the sauce (like a stir-fry which David Chang does on the show) or you can do a traditional boil where you bring a large pot of water to boil with different aromatics.

  8. The shrimp and mussels only take a few minutes. Once shrimp turn pink and mussels open up, take off heat. Serve right away hot!

  9. Corn and potatoes – feel free to boil them separately in salted water and later combine with seafood boil.

Salted Jaggery Caramel Banana Pudding

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Banana pudding is one of my ALL TIME favorite desserts!

It’s pretty standard wherever you go– vanilla pudding mix, sliced bananas, some type of cookie base – usually vanilla wafers – topped with fluffy whipped cream. It’s simple yet heavenly.

My version does something a little special – I incorporate a salted caramel made with jaggery, a molasses-like Indian palm sugar and top with some crunchy peanut chikki – a peanut brittle made of jaggery.

I keep the other elements the same (after all if it ain’t  broke don’t fix it), only I add some cream cheese to the pudding to help balance out the sweetness.

The salted jaggery caramel is simple enough – unlike making regular caramel which is very easy to burn, I make a sauce using butter, water, and some heavy cream yielding a thick and luscious result.

This Salted Caramel Jaggery Banana Pudding is perfect for your next summertime gathering and a fun version of your favorite classic!

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Ingredients

  • 2-3 Bananas
  • 2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
  • 15-20 cookie of your choice (nila wafers, ginger snaps, chessmans)
  • 1 5 oz vanilla pudding mix package
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 8 oz block cream cheese
  • 1 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 peanut chikki bar optional

Jaggery Caramel Sauce

  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/3 cup jaggery (powder or cut very finely)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Instructions

Jaggery Caramel Sauce

  1. In a small sauce pan, melt your butter. Add your sugar, water, salt, heavy cream. Combine and stir on medium-high heat. Bring to boil then lower the heat. Cook for a few minutes. Remove from heat. Keep in mind that the sauce will thicken while it cools.

Banana Pudding

  1. In a large bowl, empty your pudding mix. Add milk according to package instructions. Combine. Beat in softened cream cheese along with sweetened condensed milk until mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside.

  2. In a separate bowl, whip up one cup of heavy cream until soft peaks are formed. Incorporate about a 1/3 of the whipped cream into the pudding mix. The rest of the whipped cream will be used to top the pudding at the end.

Assembly

  1. Line a large casserole dish (ideally around 13 X 8), with your cookies. Add your pudding mixture on top.

  2. Add your sliced bananas. Before adding them squeeze a little bit of lemon or lime juice. This will help prevent browning.

  3. Continue layering – I usually get about three. Once you get to your final layer, add your whipped cream. Top with your salted jaggery caramel. Add pieces of your peanut chikki. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours in the fridge before serving.