Garlic Tostones with Hot Pepper Jelly
The most perfect bite you could imagine.
It’s late January and a snowstorm has shut down most of the PNW. Here, most of the city has been shut down for the past week due to an ice storm that dropped a solid sheet of ice enveloping the entirety of Portland. We were lucky not to lose power like some of our neighbors. Edison, on Tuesday of last week, took one step out of our front door and quickly face-planted into the ground. Our walks were inevitably cut short all week long, leaving us all inside to rot together. Storms are cozy for a day or two, a week not so much.
I was thrilled to be able to walk the seven blocks to the grocery store today without sliding and penguin-walking the entire way. I was equally thrilled to find three lonely plantains ready to be made into crispy tostones.
This recipe idea has been tucked away in the notes section on my phone for a few months. I’m no stranger to plantains. These starchy fruits are fantastic for not only tostones, I love making tortillas out of boiled plantains as well as sweet fried plantains. Such versatility.
Not all tostones are created equal. Some are thin and almost chewy and others are fluffy and crunchy. After trying various methods over the years I’ve found my favorite way to make them is by twice frying them and soaking them in a garlic salt water mixture in between frying sessions.
The result is an incredibly fluffy and crispy tostone that is anything but bland. The fluffy interior soaks up all the garlic goodness while the outside shatters with each bite.
While I usually serve up a side of tostones with any Caribbean-leaning meal, I had an idea for serving them with hot pepper jelly. It did not disappoint.
Hot Pepper Jelly is a Southern favorite. From slathering it on sandwiches and biscuits to glazing proteins and vegetables, it’s always delicious. The most classic way to serve hot pepper jelly is smeared onto a cracker with a bit of cream cheese. Coming in a variety of flavors made with different peppers and even fruits, pepper jelly is a truly versatile condiment that’s a bit between jam, jelly, or relish.
I’m partial to the neon green variety made with jalapeños and green food coloring. For my own recipe sans food coloring, because food is beautiful as is, I usually opt for a mixture of whatever peppers I have on hand. Some blend of serrano, habanero, jalapeño, Thai, and bell peppers is typical. As written below, you’ll see I used a mixture of all of those except Thai which are for some reason hard to find in Portland unless I make the trek across town to H-Mart.
This combo is spicy, just the way I adore it. If you want it to be milder, opt for using just jalapeños and bell peppers and maybe deseed the peppers. For those who like it hot, leave the seeds in. I use a food processor to chop the peppers so that my hands and eyes stay capsaicin-free. If you opt for chopping by hand, please do as I say and not as I do, and wear gloves.
If you want to take a semi-homemade approach, most grocery stores all over the US carry pepper jelly or relish. I have a jar from Trader Joe’s tucked in the fridge but alas, it’s not as flavorful or as spicy as I had hoped hence me making my own. If you’re vegan, make sure you find one made with fruit pectin and not gelatin.
For the cream cheese, my favorite dairy-free brand is Tofutti or Oatly. It’s the closest to the real deal, no cruelty needed.
I hope you enjoy this fusion of global and Southern flavors. Fusion food gets a bad rap sometimes but I adore leaning into my own culture just as much as exploring and appreciating others.
Garlic Tostones with Hot Pepper Jelly
Ingredients
- 2 green plantains
- 1 1/2 cups hot water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- Oil, for frying (I use avocado)
- Dairy-free cream cheese, for smearing
- 12 ounces spicy peppers (jalapeño, serrano, habanero, Thai)
- 8 ounces diced bell pepper (any color)
- 2 cups white distilled vinegar
- 3 cups cane sugar
- Pectin (amount will change based on the type you use, see notes below)
Instructions
Notes
I use Pomona’s Universal Pectin, 2 teaspoons pectin + 4 teaspoons calcium water.