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Chicken Mofongo
Appetizers & SidesEntrees

Chicken Mofongo

by Rob

This is a fairly simple recipe to execute, but the way the pieces go together really blew me away. Here’s where I will try to explain why it had such a profound effect on me.

When I made the Chicken Ropa Viejo, I naturally ate some of it. The taste is terrific, but I have to admit that the leanness of the chicken breast puts it ever so slightly on the dry side. This isn’t an issue, since I expect to enjoy it with a slew of different things (like guacamole, salsa, and so on). But, I did notice.

The mofongo recipe that follows technically doesn’t need to have any meat in it. It can be seen as sort of a garlic mashed potatoes, with plantains in place of potatoes. I tried some before I mixed in the chicken, and it was tasty…but also pasty: the starch of the plantains made this inevitable.

So, it was a surprise to find that mixing the two together actually improved both. The starchiness of the mofongo seemed to bind to the chicken and provide the moisture that it (somewhat) lacked. And, the savoriness of the chicken elevated the plantains beyond where they would have been on their own.

It actually gets better. While this chicken mofongo is terrific as-is, it also takes very well to salsa, guacamole, sour cream…and I can honesty see rolling some up in a tortilla and having it that way.

As a side note, I understand now why mofongo recipes always call for green plantains. One of the plantains I bought ripened, and seriously tasted just like a banana. The sweetness would have been distracting.

Now, the part I’m not so thrilled about. I’m baffled as to why Weight Watchers says that 1 plantain is 10 points, whereas bananas are 0 points. The carbs (31 to 27) are similar, as are the calories (110 to 90), and the nutritional value is comparable. I would have expected this to weigh in significantly lighter than Weight Watchers says it is.

Print Recipe
 Chicken Mofongo
3 Weight Watchers points per serving
Course Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish
Cuisine Caribbean, Cuban
Keyword chicken, plantains, WW3
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Course Appetizer, Main Dish, Side Dish
Cuisine Caribbean, Cuban
Keyword chicken, plantains, WW3
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Peel the plantains: the skin is so thick that you will need to cut a slit down the length of the skin. Make sure to cut no more than about 1/4" (6 mm) deep (I did cut somewhat deeper than I wanted here, but it didn't harm the final product).
  2. Cut plantains into 1" (25 mm) chunks. Place in a pot with chicken stock or juices from Chicken Ropa Viejo. The redness of the juices here are from the tomatoes used in the ropa viejo.
  3. Bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and discard the juices.
  4. Melt butter in the same pot, then add garlic. Saute while stirring continuously for 2 minutes or until they just start to brown. Add plantain chunks to the pot. Stir to coat, then continue heating to brown the plantain chunks slightly.
  5. Smash plantain chunks in a molcajete (mortar and pestle) or place plantain chunks in a bowl and smash with a potato masher just enough to break the skin. Don't work so much that it turns to the consistency of mashed potatoes.
  6. Mix plantain mash with Chicken Ropa Viejo. Blend evenly, but try not to break up the plantain chunks.
  7. Form using a ring mold. Garnish with cilantro if desired.
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Moroccan Flatbread
Appetizers & SidesBreads

Moroccan Flatbread

by Rob

Every recipe for this type of flatbread calls for raw onion inside the bread. I think this makes for a harsh bite, which is why I saute the onion first before folding it inside the dough.

I’m not sure if I can adequately express how much I love this preparation. The initial thought might be to use it with a tagine (it is perfect for that). But, it has so much flavor by itself that I can eat one without anything else (and probably want another one).

Print Recipe
 Moroccan Flatbread
3 Weight Watchers points per Piece
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Middle Eastern, Moroccan
Keyword bread, WW3
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
Ingredients
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Middle Eastern, Moroccan
Keyword bread, WW3
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Passive Time 1 hour
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Dissolve yeast in warm water with 1/2 cup of yogurt in a large mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add flour, remaining yogurt, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt to yeast mixture; stir with a mixer equipped with dough hooks or use a wooden spoon until smooth. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead a few minutes, until flour is fully incorporated. Shape dough into a ball; spray inside of a bowl with cooking spray and place the dough ball inside it. Seal bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for at least an hour.
  2. Heat a pan on medium with 1 teaspoon of canola oil. Saute the onions in the pan for a few minutes, until the onions become translucent. Allow to cool before proceeding to next step.
  3. Combine onion, parsley, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, paprika, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and crushed red pepper. Mix thoroughly into a paste.
  4. Cut dough into 10 equal portions. Start with one portion and cover remaining dough with a wet kitchen towel to prevent drying.
  5. Using a well-floured surface, flatten each portion until very thin and shape into a square. Spoon 1 tablespoon onion mixture in center of dough. Fold left and right sides of dough together until they meet in the middle. Fold top and bottom sides together in the same way, wetting the dough if needed to get the flaps to stick. Press down and reshape the dough to form a square. Repeat for remaining dough portions and onion mixture.
  6. Heat 1/2 teaspoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add some flatbreads, making sure not to crowd the skillet; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden. Transfer flatbreads to cooling rack. Repeat procedure with remaining 1/2 teaspoon canola oil and flatbreads. Serve immediately.​
Recipe Notes

The Greek yogurt makes for a lighter bread, but also makes it sticky and much harder to work with. Make sure to keep the work surface dusted with flour to prevent sticking. Use a bench scraper (see below) to loosen the dough from the surface if needed.

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Light Naan Bread
Appetizers & SidesBreads

Light Naan Bread

by Rob

This is an adaptation of the #twoingredientdough that works so well for bagels and pizza crust. For those applications, people have reported that the dough can be sticky if you don’t use the right kind of yogurt. But, when making naan bread, sticky dough is exactly what you want. This makes is tricky to work with, but it also yields the best results.

Regular naan bread already has yogurt as part of the dough, so figuring out the right proportions took some trial and error. I ended up using the same proportions that worked for the other doughs – 3 cups of flour for 2 cups of yogurt, plus some water – but I made sure to use a less dense yogurt. Oikos works perfectly for naan bread.

Per the sparkpeople recipe builder, each naan is only 129 calories, compared to about 200 for a regular naan.

Print Recipe
 Light Naan Bread
3 Weight Watchers points
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Keyword bread, WW3
Servings
Ingredients
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Indian
Keyword bread, WW3
Servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, dissolve the dry yeast and sugar with 1/2 cup warm water. Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Using a large, deep bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and fenugreek leaves. Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt into the small bowl and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the large bowl with salt, sugar, and baking powder.
  3. Mix the ingredients using a mixer equipped with dough hooks, or by hand with a wooden spoon. When the dry ingredients are blended, knead the dough by hand. It should feel slightly sticky. Resist the urge to add more flour, as this is exactly how it should feel. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours.
  4. NOTE: Pita bread recipes will have you "punch down" the dough after it rises, but don't do that here! If you plan to finish the bread later, seal the large bowl securely with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Return to room temperature before continuing the preparation.
  5. Dust the work area with flour. Separate the dough into 12 equal portions. The dough should be extremely soft and sticky; again, resist the urge to blend in extra flour, since this is perfect. Flatten the dough by hand, using flour on the work space to keep it from sticking, and stretch out the dough. The dough will be too sticky for a rolling pin, so try to stretch it by hand into a teardrop shape that's about 1/4-inch thick.
  6. Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Reduce heat to medium-high. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet. Do not oil the pan!
  7. Combine garam masala and garlic salt in a small bowl. Have sesame seeds ready separately.
  8. Fill a small bowl with warm water and have it handy with a near the skillet. Lightly dust your first piece of naan with flour so it won't stick to your hand, and place in the palm of one hand. Use the other hand to brush the surface with water. Gently lay it in the skillet - water-side down - and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough may start to bubble, which is normal.
  9. After 1 minute, brush the uncooked (facing up) side with water, and flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, but don't worry if it isn't. Brush the cooked side with water, and sprinkle with garam masala, garlic salt, and sesame seeds. Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
  10. Remove the naan from the skillet. Place the naan on a cooling rack. Repeat with the next 5 naans. After making a few naans, the skillet surface will burn somewhat, so clean it with a wet paper towel. This will prevent blackening the remaining naans. Repeat the above procedure for the remaining naans, and serve.
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