Vegan Hors d’oeuvre with Polenta and Tostones
This is a perfect vegan hors d’oeuvre for when you have guests. The recipe uses fried plantains (tostones), tofu, avocado, black beans and polenta. The recipe should take about 20 minutes to prepare and about 10 minutes to cook. The recipe was inspired from a recipe submitted by angloesque via allrecipes.
Wine pairing: If you plan to pair this recipe with wine, please omit the garlic from this hors d’oeuvre, as it will take away from the wine experience. I recommend a white wine, such as a dry Riesling, a white Zinfandel, a Gewurztraminer or a Virginia Viognier. Like I said, stay away from the garlic on this one!
Ingredients
- 2 green Plantains for tostones or semi-ripe plantains (that’s your preference)
- 1 pre-made polenta (cornmeal)
- 1 extra firm tofu
- 4 Garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups of black beans either boiled or canned (frijoles negros)
- 1 avocado
- 3 cups of canola oil
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Black pepper as desired
- Salt, preferably kosher or sea salt
Instructions
Tofu and Polenta
- Preheat oven broiler. Slice the tofu in squares and the polenta and place in baking sheet or aluminum foil. (Idea is to toast the top of the tofu and polenta.)
- Broil the tofu and the polenta for about five minutes each or until they achieve that golden/crispy look. (May have to turn over to achieve the crispiness.) Remove from oven.
Tostones
- Meanwhile, preheat the canola oil in either a large cooking pan or a deep-frier to about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Add canola oil as necessary.
- In the meantime, add garlic, black pepper and olive oil into a large bowl for the tostones.
- Peel the plantains and cut them into 1 1/2 inch rounds and once the oil is ready, place them into the pan and fry until golden brown. Fry for about four minutes.
- Once the tostones are fried, dry with a paper towel. Smash the tostones (fried plantains) with a tostonera to achieve a round toston shape. After being shaped into a toston, add them to the large bowl with the garlic. Mix well!
Avocado and black beans
- Heat up the boiled black beans or microwave them.
- Slice an avocado
Once everything is ready, stack up the ingredients as shown in the image starting with the broiled polenta, tofu, avocado, black beans, and finally with a toston. Serve immediately and enjoy!
