“Platano is more than food; platano is a symbol that represents what we are as Dominican,” said Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, alternating between Spanish and English when he announced the upcoming festival on Tuesday.
“Behind the platano, there is so many working-class families that have been able to sustain themselves.”
Plantains are used in many Latin American countries, as well as in the Caribbean and Africa.
For $1, one can get 5 to 10 plantains, highlighting its legitimacy as a cheap yet healthy base for a variety of recipes.
Mangu is a traditional recipe that mixes mashed plantains with water, and sometimes milk, butter, and salt and pepper. There are numerous variations, like adding eggs, onions, and/or meat.
“We hope to break a record very soon,” declared Rodriguez, “making New York as one of the places that we do the biggest mangu ever.”
Fried recipes include tostones, a kind of plantain pancake, and aranitas, similar to a funnel cake. One can fry plantains, and then use them in a diverse range of meals, from soup to turkey stuffing. Plaintains can also be boiled and paired with fish, and grilled, accompanied by dipping sauces.
”We’re trying to educate our community,” said Dr. Julia Bella, one of the organizers of the festival. Plantains are an example of “the healthy food that they have to eat to avoid, for example, McDonalds.”
Bella explained that a great way to show youth the simplicity of cooking with plantains would be to fry and dry them, replacing French fries with plantain frites (fries). “It’s less than 200 calories,” she noted.
Also low in fat and sodium and cholesterol-free, plantains are high in carbohydrates and full of potassium, magnesium, fiber, and Vitamins A, and C.
When first picked, they are green and starchy, resembling a potato in texture and taste. As they ripen they become sweeter and eventually turn black on the outside. Fully ripe, they are delicious raw.
Rodriguez introduced the event’s general coordinator Isais Amare, an amiable gentlemen with a smile on his face, saying immigrants “bring a lot of knowledge and a lot of ideas, and Isais Amare is one of them.”
The festival, Primer Festival del Platano, will be held at the Mirabal Sisters School Campus, 21 Jumel Place and 168th Street.
The team organizing the event will work together again at Thanksgiving time to provide food to the homeless, and bring a mangus to anyone who needs one.
