Bolón de Verde

Ingredients

• 4 large green plantains
• 150 g chicharron (crisp fried pork belly), chopped small
• 100 g queso fresco, crumbled
• 3 tbsp lard or vegetable oil, plus 500 ml more for frying
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 4 eggs, to serve

Before you cook

• Cut the ends off each plantain and score the skin lengthways in three places.
• Prise the skin off in strips, using the back of a spoon if it resists.
• Cut the peeled plantains into three centimetre chunks.
• Crush the garlic to a paste with a little of the salt.
• Chop the chicharron into small pieces and crumble the cheese.

Steps

1. Heat the 500 ml of oil in a deep pan to 160C.
2. Fry the plantain chunks for ten minutes, turning them, until they are tender all the way through but only pale gold.
3. Lift the plantain out with a slotted spoon and drain it briefly on a rack.
4. Tip the hot plantain into a large bowl and add the garlic paste, the cumin, the salt and the three tablespoons of lard.
5. Mash and knead firmly with a wooden pestle or the back of a heavy spoon for three minutes, until you have a coarse, sticky dough with no large lumps.
6. Work the chopped chicharron and the crumbled cheese through the warm dough with your hands.
7. Divide the mixture into four and press each portion into a tight ball about the size of a small orange.
8. Bring the frying oil back up to 175C.
9. Fry the balls for four minutes, turning them once, until a thin crust forms all over.
10. Drain the bolones on a rack for one minute.
11. Fry the four eggs in a separate pan to your liking.
12. Serve each bolon with an egg on top, extra crumbled cheese and a cup of strong black coffee.