Tostones are a staple dish of Dominican cuisine, but you can go the extra mile with them. These tostones rellenos stuffed with avocado and shrimp are sure to raise the flavor level at your next gathering with these cute bites that are exploding with great flavors.
Why we ❤️ it
These tostones rellenos remind me that maybe we should get a slogan, and if we do I have just the perfect one: Keeping spouses happy since 2001!
Fried plantain cups are the perfect dish both for snacking in front of the TV watching our favorite show, a favorite televised sports event with family or friends, or for home parties.
What's tostones rellenos?
Mofonguitos or tostones rellenos are simply a bowl-shaped version of regular tostones (twice-fried plantains) stuffed with whatever your heart desires.
These are also a fantastic, easier alternative to traditional mofongo. I can't convey to you just how tasty these are.
How to serve
Serve tostones rellenos as an appetizer, mid-afternoon snack, or – by increasing the serving size – even dinner. You can garnish them with some parsley or cilantro leaves.
If you are a fan of spicy-hot food, provide your favorite hot sauce to your guests.
Top tips
- Learn how to peel plantains.
- For this tostones rellenos recipe, you can use either unripe bananas or plantains. Plantains would be the more traditional choice (they are easier to work with and yield better-looking cups), but my experiment using green bananas turned surprisingly delicious; the taste and texture are pretty different than if using plantains.
- And to make it worth your while, this recipe does not require a special plantain masher. You can do it with a tool you're likely to find in your kitchen already: a lemon squeezer, an idea that came to me when I wanted to make some without actually having to buy another type of tostonera (an idea I see now frequently around the internet. You're welcome. 😉 )
Stuffings
This is a very versatile dish. Aside from the tostones rellenos de camarones and avocado suggested in the recipe, you can go with a different filling, these are some of our favorite fillings and stuffings:
- Beef filling, which would go fabulously drizzled with mayo-ketchup sauce.
- Shredded chicken in tomato sauce, goes great combined with Cheddar cheese
- Vegan mince
- Vegan vegetable filling
- Creamy chicken filling
- Carne ripiada (Dominican shredded beef similar to Cuban ropa vieja)
- Lambí (Dominican stewed conch)
Variations
For this tostones rellenos recipe, you can use either unripe bananas or plantains. Plantains would be the more traditional choice (they are easier to work with and yield better-looking cups), but my experiment using green bananas turned surprisingly delicious; the taste and texture are pretty different than if using plantains.
About this recipe
I must clarify that I did not come up with the idea of turning a tostón into a small cup; in fact, I've tried it in several restaurants around the Dominican Republic (shoutout to Típico Bonao for some awesome ones), usually filled with crab meat, and on at least one occasion with avocado and onions. This particular combination, however, is of my own making.
And to make it worth your while, this recipe does not require a special plantain masher. You can do it with a tool you're likely to find in your kitchen already: a lemon squeezer, an idea that came to me when I wanted to make some without actually having to buy another type of tostonera (an idea I see now frequently around the internet. You're welcome. 😉 )
Recipe
[Recipe + Video] Tostones Rellenos (Avocado and Shrimp Plantain Cups)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 clove garlic, crushed into paste
- 2 dozen shrimp (large, uncooked and peeled)
- 2 teaspoons salt, (or more, to taste), cantidad dividida
- 1 teaspoon pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), (or more, to taste), cantidad dividida
- 1½ cup oil for frying
- 4 plantain (green, unripe), (or unripe bananas), peeled, cut into 1" [2.5 cm slices]
- 1 avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- Cilantro for garnishing, or parsley (optional)
Instructions
Heat the olive oil over very low heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let the garlic burn.Add the shrimp and cook until they are pink all over. Season with salt and pepper to taste.Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat the frying oil over medium heat (175 ºC [350 ºF]) in a small bowl or saucepan.Fry each plantain slice until light golden brown (about 5 minutes). Press the slices with a lemon squeezer to form small cups.Once all the cups are formed, fry them again over medium-high heat until they turn golden brown.
Peel the avocado and crush using a fork until it doesn't have any lumps. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the lime juice.
Spoon about tablespoons of avocado mix into the cups.Top each with a shrimp and garnish with cilantro leaves.Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
Published Nov 30, 2011, and last revised
