Tigrillo

Name: Tigrillo
Total time: 50 min
Yield: serves 6

50 minutes + soaking
serves 6
Easy

Check out this traditional South American breakfast recipe from Ecuador. This easy recipe is packed with plenty of flavour and will make for a great weekend brunch with friends

This tigrillo recipe was written by John Gregory-Smith, inspired by his recent trip to Ecuador…

“A coastal breakfast with bite, tigrillo is a high-energy food that’s made with green plantains. These are less ripe than the yellow ones and better for a savoury meal. To make sure that they are really soft and tender, I soak the raw plantains in cold water for an hour before cooking.”

*This recipe is gluten-free according to industry standards

Ingredients

green plantains 2 large, peeled and cut into 6cm pieces
smooth peanut butter 2 tbsp
whole milk 125ml
unsalted butter 50g
olive oil 3 tbsp
streaky bacon 4 rashers, finely sliced
spring onions 4, finely sliced
paprika ½ tsp, plus a little extra to garnish
mozzarella 80g, finely chopped
coriander leaves a handful, finely chopped
eggs 6

Method

Step 1

Put the plantain pieces into a bowl of cold water to soak for one hour. Drain well. Put the plantain pieces into a pan of boiling water. Boil over a medium heat for 30-35 minutes or until soft. Drain well and tip into a mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter, milk, ¹/2 of the butter, season well and mash together until smooth.
Step 2

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in large non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Add the bacon and fry for 4-5 minutes or until just crisping, then scatter the spring onions into the pan and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes or until wilted. Remove from the heat, add the paprika and mix well.
Step 3

Tip the bacon and spring onions into the plantain mash, along with the cheese and ³/4 of the coriander. Mix everything together really well and season.
Step 4

Reheat the bacon pan over a high heat. Add the remaining butter and transfer the tigrillo to the pan and flatten it out with a spoon. Reduce the heat to medium and break up and turn it regularly, until crisp. It will crumble and look a little like a hash, with crunchy pieces.
Step 5

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over a medium heat with the remaining oil and cook the eggs to your liking.
Step 6

To serve, divide the tigrillo between six plates. Top each with an egg. Scatter over the remaining coriander leaves and a pinch more of paprika. Serve immediately.