Puerto Rican garlic plantain mash with prawns (Mofongo con camarones)

1. For the prawn sauce, soften the finely chopped onion and bell pepper in the olive oil for 6 minutes, add the crushed garlic and grated tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Add the peeled prawns to the sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes until pink; stir in half the chopped coriander and keep warm.

3. Peel the green (unripe) plantains, cut into 2-3 cm rounds and fry in the oil at 170 °C for 8-10 minutes until tender but not too brown; drain.

4. In a mortar (pilón), pound the garlic with the salt and olive oil into a paste, add a quarter of the fried plantain and a quarter of the pork crackling and crush into a coarse, firm mass. If you don't have a mortar, a heavy bowl and a potato masher will do.

5. Press the mixture into a small bowl and turn it out onto a plate to get a neat dome; make the other three portions the same way.

6. Press a hollow into the top of each mofongo, spoon the prawn sauce into it and around it, sprinkle with the remaining coriander and serve immediately.

Tip: Mofongo is at its best piping hot: as it cools it hardens, so only mash the plantain right before serving.