Stuffed Tostones Cups

Mouthwatering Stuffed Plantain Cups (Tostones Rellenos), filled with a five-grain salad. Just the perfect amount of crunchy & flavorful, perfect for an appetizer or a side dish at your next party!

Vegan | Gluten-free | Soy-free

Wondering what appetizers to have at your party? I got you!

This wonderful recipe I’m sharing with you today was actually inspired by an appetizer on the menu of one of my favorite restaurants. There is this wonderful restaurant in Old San Juan named Café Berlin that has the most incredible vegan menu. The best part is, the restaurant is not even vegan, they just have a separate vegan menu from appetizers to dessert. Even though it’s a bit of a drive (& a tad expensive), it’s absolutely worth it.

So, after I finished my last class this semester, me & my grad school friends headed over there for a celebratory dinner. Out of everything that we tried, the one that stood out for me was these plantain cups stuffed with bean salad. However, I thought that they were missing something & I challenged myself to replicate it.

The result was incredible! I can’t begin to tell you just how good and mouth watering these are. You get the crunchiness of the fried plantain and the burst of flavor from the spices in the grain salad.

How to: You can choose how to make your tostones, but for this particular recipe it’s best to fry them. To make the cups, I used a regular tostonera & then shaped them, but there’s a tostonera that presses the plantains into cups. If like me, you don’t own this type of tostonera, you can press the plantains with a regular tostonera and simply form into a cup using your hands, but be careful because they’ll be hot. Finally, stuff the cups with the grain salad. You can even serve with a dipping sauce like vegan mayo-ketchup, sriracha or guacamole if desired.

The filling for stuffed tostones can vary, use your imagination and try them with: vegan ceviche, pico de gallo, Puerto Rican stuffing (ground soy + fried sweet plantain), etc. The possibilities are endless!

Recipe: Stuffed Tostones Cups

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:

• 2-3 green plantains
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can garbanzo beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lemon (or sub for apple cider vinegar)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat canola oil in a large pan, to high-med heat.
2. Peel plantains and slice into wide rounds.
3. When the oil is ready to fry, reduce the heat to low-med.
4. Fry plantains in the heated oil until golden and completely cooked, about 8-12 minutes.
5. While the plantains are cooking, prepare your grain salad.
6. Drain all of the grains and rinse them well. Place in a large bowl.
7. To the grains, add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, minced garlic & chopped onions. Mix well and place in the fridge.
8. With a tostonera, press the plantains to flatten them into a disk, then shape into a small cup.
9. If you find that your plantains are still a bit raw, you can return them to the hot oil, and fry for 5 minutes more. Remove from the oil, place on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Set aside.
10. Fill the plantain cups with the grain salad and top with cilantro, and avocado if you have some.
11. Serve immediately with your favorite side sauce, and enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! Tag me in your Instagram creations for a chance to be featured in my insta stories! Use @veggiejeva and the hashtag #veggiejevaskitchen.

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