Lobster Sauce with Mofongo

This recipe was originally published in the award-winning cookbook Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet (Ten Speed Press, 2022). Reprinted here with permission.

You can purchase Diasporican here

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup sofrito, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
• 1 Thai chile, minced (optional)
• 1 ½ pounds lobster tail meat, roughly chopped
• ½ lime
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 recipe Mofongo, recipe follows

Method:

1. In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 5 minutes, or until browned and softened. Sprinkle in the garlic powder and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in the water and sofrito and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes more. Add the fish sauce and chile (if using) and lobster to the sauce, stir to incorporate, and cook for 4 to 7 minutes, or until the lobster is cooked through. Squeeze lime juice into the mixture and season with salt and pepper.
2. Pack about ½ cup mofongo into a teacup or small bowl. Invert onto a serving plate to unmold. Repeat to make the remaining servings. Pour the lobster sauce over the mofongo and serve immediately.

Mofongo

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

• Canola oil for frying
• 2 plátanos, peeled and sliced into 1-inch-thick medallions
• 1 amarillo, peeled and sliced into 1-inch-thick medallions
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup chicharrones (optional)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon sofrito, recipe follows

Method:

1. Line a plate with paper towels and set near the stove. Fill a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with ½ inch of canola oil and place over medium-high heat. You want enough oil to submerge the plátanos and amarillo. Heat the oil until it registers 350F on an instant-read thermometer. (Add a tiny piece of plátano; if the oil sizzles, it’s ready for frying.)
2. Add the plátanos and amarillo in the oil and fry for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the medallions to the prepared plate. Set aside.
3. In a pilón, molcajete, or a large bowl, mash one of the garlic cloves, pounding until it has disintegrated and is sticky. Add the remaining garlic, fried plátano and amarillo, chicharrones (if using), and garlic powder; season with salt; and mash. Then add the water, mash again, add the sofrito, and mash one final time. (Do this in stages if your pilón isn’t large enough for one go.)
4. Pack about ½ cup mofongo into a teacup or small bowl. Invert onto a serving plate to unmold. Repeat to make the remaining servings.

Sofrito

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 yellow onion, quartered
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 green bell pepper, quartered
• 1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 bunch culantro, coarsely chopped

Method:

1. In a blender, process the tomatoes until finely chopped. Add the onion and garlic and process until finely chopped and incorporated. Add the bell pepper, cilantro, and culantro and process until the mixture is well combined and mostly smooth.
2. You can use the sofrito immediately, cover it and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 day, or pour it into an ice-cube tray and freeze for up to 6 months.