A cousin to the banana, plantains are a traditional ingredient in many Haitian dishes. In this recipe, they serve as a crispy vehicle for citrusy shredded pork, balanced by pickled onions and avocado.

Plantains offer a plethora of nutritional benefits, including high amounts of vitamin A, fiber, potassium, and magnesium. Pork is a rich source of protein and beneficial amino acids, and also offers vitamins B12, zinc, and iron.

Serve this recipe as an appetizer and watch them rapidly disappear! Or serve with a simply dressed green salad for a meal everyone will be excited about.

Serves 4-6

Total Time: 2 hours (40 minutes of active time)

Ingredients:

• 1 (4-pound) boneless pork shoulder or butt, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 cup beer or chicken stock
• 8 cloves garlic, chopped
• zest of 2 limes
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ red onion, peeled and chopped
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 plantains, peeled and cut into 1 ½ inch rounds
• 2 tablespoons coconut or olive oil
• diced avocado and chopped cilantro, to serve

Directions:

1. Using a pressure cooker on the sauté setting, brown the pork on all sides, in batches if necessary, about 2-3 minutes per batch. Press cancel to turn off the sauté function and add the beer, garlic, lime zest, orange and lime juice, oregano, cumin, bay leaves, and salt to the pork. Mix well to combine.
2. Seal your pressure cooker vent, and turn on high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally after the timer goes off, then strain the pork out (reserving the cooking liquid) and transfer to a baking sheet.  
3. While the pork cooks, prepare the pickled onions. Mix the chopped onions and the apple cider vinegar together in a bowl with a pinch of salt
4. Preheat your broiler to high. Toss ¼ cup of the pork cooking liquid with the pork on the baking sheet. Broil the pork in 2-3 minute increments, tossing every few minutes, until it’s crispy and golden in places.
5. To prepare the plantains, heat a skillet over medium heat with 1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil. Cook the plantain rounds on each side for 1-2 minutes, until they start to soften. Transfer to a plate and flatten with the bottom of a cup to ¼ inch thickness. Return to the pan and fry for another minute on each side until golden and crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.
6. To serve, top each fried plantain with a spoonful of pork, and a few pieces of pickled onion and avocado. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and enjoy!

Recipe note: You can also cook the pork for this recipe in a slow cooker for 6-8 hours until the meat is tender, or in a Dutch oven for 3-4 hours until tender.