Colombian Starter

Patacones con Hogao

Patacones con Hogao is twice-fried green plantain discs with crisp edges and a spoonful of slow-cooked Colombian tomato and spring-onion hogao. This version uses measured ingredients, clear visual cues and the traditional flavour balance that makes the dish distinctive.

Jump to recipe More Colombian food
15 minsPrep time
25 minsCook time
Serves 4Servings
EasyDifficulty
Patacones con Hogao
About this dish

Patacones con Hogao: the story on the plate

Patacones con Hogao is a Colombian starter with a clear sense of place. Patacones are found across Colombia and the wider Caribbean and northern South America. In Colombia they are especially common on coastal and tropical tables, where green plantain is a major savoury starch. The recipe below keeps the defining ingredients and technique intact while giving practical metric quantities and enough detail for a home cook to judge texture, seasoning and doneness rather than simply follow a timer.

Historical background

Patacones are found across Colombia and the wider Caribbean and northern South America. In Colombia they are especially common on coastal and tropical tables, where green plantain is a major savoury starch.

Why it is famous

The two-stage frying technique transforms a dense unripe fruit into a crisp platform for sauces, seafood, meat or cheese.

Cultural significance

The two-stage frying technique transforms a dense unripe fruit into a crisp platform for sauces, seafood, meat or cheese.

Nutrition

Estimated nutrition per serving

These figures are estimates per serving. Actual nutrition can vary with the brands and exact amounts you use, how much oil, dressing or sauce is absorbed, any substitutions or added extras, and the portion size served.

A practical guide for comparing recipes and planning meals.

300Calories
3gProtein
45gCarbs
13gFat
Ingredients

What you need

  • 3 green plantains
  • 700 neutral frying oil
  • 1 fine salt
  • 350 tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 150 Spring onions, finely sliced
  • 6 Garlic, minced
  • 0.5 ground cumin
  • 15 neutral oil, for hogao
Method

Step-by-step method

Follow the recipe in order, tasting and adjusting seasoning where needed.

  1. For the hogao, cook spring onions in 15 ml oil over medium-low heat for 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin and a pinch of salt and simmer 12–15 minutes until soft, glossy and jammy.
  2. Score the plantain skins lengthways and prise them off. Cut the flesh into 4 cm chunks.
  3. Heat frying oil to 165°C and fry plantain chunks for 4–5 minutes until pale gold and just tender inside. Drain for 2 minutes.
  4. Flatten each piece between two boards or with the base of a saucepan to 8–10 mm thick. If the edges split badly, the first fry was too short.
  5. Raise the oil to 180°C and fry the flattened plantains for 2–3 minutes until crisp and deeper gold. Drain and salt immediately.
  6. Spoon warm hogao over the patacones only at the moment of serving so the plantain keeps its crunch.
Cook smarter

Tips, storage and serving advice

Shopping tips

Choose pre-cooked maize flour labelled for arepas/empanadas, firm green plantains for savoury dishes and very ripe black-speckled plantains for sweets. Fresh coriander and good avocados make a noticeable difference. Check labels on compound ingredients such as sauces, spice blends, stocks, kimchi, fermented pastes and prepared breads when cooking for allergies.

Ingredient quality

For Patacones con Hogao, prioritise fresh or properly stored versions of green plantains, neutral frying oil, fine salt, tomatoes; speciality seasonings should smell vivid rather than stale.

Common mistakes

Using ripe plantain makes sweet soft discs; flattening before the first fry cooks through causes cracking; saucing too early destroys crispness.

Chef’s tips

Keep the first fry pale. Its purpose is to soften the plantain so it can be flattened, not to create the final crust.

How to know it is cooked

Patacones sound crisp when tapped, hold their shape under sauce and have no firm raw centre.

Plating advice

Arrange in a single layer and top each with a small neat spoon of hogao.

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