Mufongo is my number one reason to visit Puerto Rico. It is so delicious that I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. In fact, I tried doing just that on our last trip to Puerto Rico (much to the dismay of my travel companions). :-/ I liked it so much I practically had mufongo withdrawals after coming back to the states. I couldn't find a place that served mufongo in a 10 mile radius so I just decided to make it myself.

  Mufongo is a mixture of starchy vegetables used as a base for a delicious stew of sauce and proteins. In Puerto Rico, I often found mufongo made out of any combination of plantain, cassava, and yucca. You can make the base out of any starchy vegetable, but it is good to include plantain as one of your components because it gives a dry rich flavor and texture that these other vegetable cannot replace.

You can see here how the mufongo mixture forms a beautiful well for your stew. Then the base is covered with a stew-like sauce. This mixture can be anything you desire: spicy garlic shrimp, creamy seafood mix, grilled pork and chili salsa, etc. The possibilities are endless! This is why mufongo is a great choice when you haven't been to the grocery store in a while. You can take any leftovers and combine them together to make a savory sauce to top the mufongo. I just so happened to have lobster tail and steak leftover from a nice date-night-in meal and some bison given to me by a friend. That is why I have this steak, lobster, bison stew atop my mufongo tonight.  But you could combine any other types of leftovers you have: broccoli, carrots, chicken, fish, marinara, etc.

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• small purple potato, 1
• small plantain, yellow, 1
• ground bison, cooked, 1/2 lb
• lobster tail, cooked, 1
• sirloin steak, cooked, ~2 oz
• broth, 3 tbsp + 1 cup
• red onions, diced, 2 tbsp
• small carrot, sliced, 1
• green onions, diced, 2 tbsp
• coconut oil, for frying

Tools:

• deep fryer (optional)

Directions aka instructiones:

• peel the plantain
• cube the potato and plantain into ~1 in cubes
• heat coconut oil in a fryer. Add the cubed potato and plantain and fry until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. If you don't have a deep fat fryer, you can simply fry the veggies on the stove top using a large skillet and coconut oil.
• drain and set aside
• saute red onions, white part of green onions and 1 cup broth over medium heat until reduced by on third or about 10-15 min.
• mash potato and plantain with 3 tbsp broth until well blended and mold-able
• mold plantain mixture onto the plate into little towers. Indent the top of the tower. This is your mufongo base and will form the well to place your meat and sauce.
• add lobster, bison and steak to the sauce sauteing on medium high. Mix until warmed.
• spoon sauce into mufongo wells, coat in sauce
• garnish with green onions
• serve and enjoy!