Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Vanessa Mota came to the United States at age 14. She only spoke Spanish. Pretty quickly, the American culture entered her world and soon enough she was fluent in English. A perfect example that one can learn a new language at any age. Even as a teenager adjusting to a new life.
From marketing and communications, Vanessa began blogging in 2014 sharing about her culture through recipes and foods she missed from her native country.
“I just wanted to share authentic recipes filled with my Dominican flavors with the world. The internet provided that opportunity.”
I invite you to watch our IGTV and share it with your friends.
On her website, Vanessa shares recipes for appetizers, main entrees, desserts, and typical drinks. “I’m passionate about creating quick and easy versions of the recipes I grew up eating to share with busy parents who want to cook foods filled with Latin flavors that don’t take a ton of time to prepare.”
While we chatted about her family and her culture, Vane and I made her traditional fried green plantain recipe or “tostones,” as they are known in other Latino countries like Puerto Rico.
Here is Vanessa’s fried plantain recipe:
Ingredients
- Green plantains
- Oil – vegetable preferred
- Salt
Directions
- Peel the plantain
- Cut into 1-inch thick rounds and fry in vegetable oil for 3-4 min on each side
- Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate
- With the bottom of a bottle, small pan, or a tostonera if you have one, press on the plantains to flatten them to about half their original size
- Return the pressed plantains to the hot oil. Fry until crisp around the edges, about 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove from the oil, place on a plate lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt.
More about Vanessa’s Dominican foods? Check out her Instagram @My.Dominican.Kitchen
