Mangú is a Dominican traditional dish served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The origin of mangú started back in 1916 when the Americans invaded the Dominican Republic, afterwards the soldiers would go into town. Then one day, one of the soldiers wanted to taste some of the mashed plantains he saw the locals eat. When he tasted it, he said “Man this is good” and pointing at it, he said in short “man good!”. The locals thought that the name of the mashed plantains in English was mangú.
Mangú is made up of boiled plantains. The plantains are then mashed with butter or oil, and a little bit of water in which they were boiled. The dish is topped with sautéed red onions that have been cooked with vinegar. It is traditionally served with fried eggs, fried cheese, and fried Dominican salami. I served mine with fried prosciutto, eggs 🍳 and avocado 🥑. It’s definitely very filling😀
Ingredients
To make mangú (4 servings):
- 4 unripe plantains
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tsp EVOO or French sweet butter
- 1 cup water room temperature
To make onion garnish:
- 2 tbsp EVOO
- 2 red onions large
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- salt
Directions
- Peeling: Peel the plantains and cut lengthwise, then divide each half into two. Remove the center where the seeds are located (optional, this is just my preference for a smoother mangú).
- Boiling: Boil the plantains in enough water to cover them plus an inch until they are soft, having added the salt to the water before the water breaks the boil.
- Mashing: Remove the plantains from the water and save two cups to the side. Mash the plantains right away with a fork or potato masher until they are very smooth and there are few to no lumps (be careful not to burn yourself). Mix in EVOO or butter plus 1 cup or more water and keep mashing and mixing until it turns into a smooth puree.
Cooking onions:
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet over low heat.
- Add cut onions into circles and cook and stir until they become translucent.
- Pour in vinegar and season with salt to taste.
Serving:
Garnish mangú with the onions and serve with eggs over prosciutto and avocado.