A Little Dominican Breakfast

This recipe is a Dominican meal called mangu made by Dominicans all around. Everyone has their own way of making it, today I'll be showing you how I make it. Mangu consists of boiled plantains, fried egg, fried salami, and fried tropical cheese with some red onions.

I've been having mangu for as long as I can remember, when my parents would take us to D.R. (The Dominican Republic) we'd have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner sometimes! We wouldn't complain because it's so delicious.

“The fried egg, salami, and cheese are called Los Tres Golpes, or The Three Hits, because the flavor hits you so hard! ”

To make the mangu recipe here are the things you'll need:

3 Green Plantains, (you can use yellow plantains, however they'll be sweet and its not exactly traditional mangu)

Salami, the Induveca brand that's the one I used for this recipe, I recommend using that one for authenticity.

Tropical Cheese you can find it in the grocery store or in Walmart.

1 Egg (or more depending on how many people are eating)

A quarter of red onion ( You just need a small amount, unless you're making a bigger batch for more people)

How to make it:

First thing you have to do is peel the plantains, once they're peeled its recommended to cut them in half because they'll boil easier. Once they've been peeled and sliced, put a pot of water to boil and put the plantains in. You'll know they're done because you'll smell them. Or you can also check with a fork and see if its cooked all the way through. They should be a dark yellow color, almost brown. Now, you can get started on the sides, leaving the plantain on low heat so it doesn't dry out.

For the salami, all you need to do is slice a couple of slices, not too thin but not too thick. Put some oil in a pan with medium high heat and fry the salami until its dark on both sides. Not burnt but dark. Put them aside on a plate with some paper towel to collect the grease.

In the same pan add a little bit of oil (unless there is still enough oil from before) and slice some cheese, again not too thin but not too thick either. Put those to fry until they're golden and crispy. For the egg, you're simply just frying it.

Take some oil on the same pan and crack the egg into the pan. Let both sides cook. You can add some salt on the egg if you'd like but I think the cheese and salami have enough flavor. The onion is optional but definitely worth trying. It gives the meal a break and some freshness. Slice a quarter of a red onion and put it in a bowl, take some white vinegar and pour about a half a teaspoon of it on the onions. You will begin to see the onions turn into a bright pink color. Once all the onions have turned bright pink, cook it in the pan until it sweats.

Now to make the dish, take the plantains out of the warm water and put them in a bowl, it'll be easier to mash this way. Take a fork, or a potato masher and start mashing the plantains. Add some butter into it, as well as a little bit of the plantain water. This will make the plantains moist and won't dry out. Keep mashing until they're soft. You can also add some cheese if you'd like, it'll make the plantains creamier.

Once the plantains are mashed to your liking, serve it on a plate, add the egg, cheese, salami and onions and enjoy!

This meal may not be the healthiest, but it definitely is delicious.