This Chicken and Smoky Mofongo Dumplings recipe was sponsored by Vive Mejor. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.
If you’ve been following along, than you know we’ve been transient ever since Memorial Day. We got kicked out of our house and aren’t able to move into our new place until the end of June, and therefore, eating a lot of take-out. A. LOT.
In this time, I’ve discovered something about myself. I don’t really like going out to eat. I used to like it a lot, it was basically my favorite activity. These days however, all I want is a home-cooked meal. Something warm, comforting, not too heavy, and definitely not involving French fries, of any sort.
Last week, in our Airbnb apartment I made soup. I needed warm broth, tender vegetables, and chicken. If you’re a certain kind of cook, you know exactly what I mean. My partners at Vive Mejor had asked me to play around with a popular Dominican recipe for Chicken Mofongo. If you’ve never had (or heard) of Mofongo, it is a very popular dish in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic made of mashed, fried green plantains, garlic, and sometimes chopped chicharron. Typically this is molded into a cake and eaten with a savory stew of pork or chicken.
Making Mofongo Healthier
In an effort to eat as healthy as I can under the circumstances I decided to take a little liberty with the traditional mofongo recipe. Instead of frying the plaintains I boiled them before mashing the softened fruit with lots of garlic and smoked paprika to give them a smoky, richness.
I also decided that instead of the standard cake of mofongo to make delicate little dumplings and float them in a rich chicken broth seasoned with Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon, poached chicken thighs, and aromatics like onions and garlic.
Knorr Chicken Bouillon is my secret ingredient in soups and stews. Supporting them is important to me as they pride themselves on sourcing high-quality ingredients and helping farms find sustainable ways to produce their products such as reducing water and fertilizer usage, and practicing biodiversity in their fields.
The last step to maximizing flavor and health was to add as many vegetables as possible to the soup. Bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, and a generous handful of fresh, chopped spinach in each bowl to melt into the soup.
It’s the kind of recipe that revives the soul and makes you feel grounded no matter what.
Chicken and Smoky Mofongo Dumplings Recipe
Traditional chicken and dumplings get a Carribean make over with these smoky mofongo dumplings made with mashed plantains, smoked paprika, and garlic all floating in a rich chicken broth.
Ingredients
- 2 green plantains, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (divided)
- 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon, divided
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 2 cups spinach, thinly sliced
- cilantro leaves to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add plantains and cook until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain.
- In the same saucepan heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add half of the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add plantains, smoked paprika, 2 teaspoons Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork until well combined. Remove from heat and let cool.
- Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper.
- Heat a medium stock pot over medium-high heat and add remaining olive oil. Once shimmering, add chicken and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add onions, bell pepper, and carrots, and cook until just beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Add remaining garlic and tomato and let cook another minute or so.
- Add 2 tablespoons Knorr Chicken Flavor Bouillon along with 4 cups water and bring to a boil. Return chicken to the pot, cover and let simmer until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool slightly.
- Remove skin and bones from chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces. Return to the soup pot.
- Scoop walnut-sized pieces of the mofongo mixture and roll into balls. Add to simmering soup.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with handfuls of sliced spinach and cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 337Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 479mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 5gSugar: 14gProtein: 21g
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What are your go-to healthy comfort foods? Leave me a comment below and let me know.
Here are a couple of my other favorites:
Tacos Arabes with Carrot-Avocado Crema
Simple Summer Vegetable Soup with Cilantro Pesto Croutons
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This is not a variation of mofongo. If anything, it is a variation of mangú, if you wanted to say it is a variation of anything. Puerto Ricans would call this “bollitas de plátano”. You could probably get the same result by granting the plantain first until it was a goopy mash, season it with the garlic, paprika and salt, and add it to your broth once the broth is bubbling. You will need to drop the balls in gently but they should float quite easily.
Hi Jennica, Thank you for letting me know about mangú. Do you have a good recipe I can try? I wish I could hop on a plane to Puerto Rico right now and eat my way around the island, but in the meantime, I’ll see if I can make a bit of Puerto Rico in my kitchen instead.