What’s For Brunch? Try something with chilli and cheese

Here, wonderful scents and aromas bring to mind forests thick with mangroves, plantain trees and pink flamingos.

Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus 2 hours resting

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients
2 large green plantains
1 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
200g semi-hard cheese (such as Provolone), diced or grated
200g pancetta, diced
vegetable oil, for frying
salt

Method
Remove the ends of the plantains, slice through the skin lengthways and cut them in half. Boil in salted water for about 30 minutes.

The skins will have come off almost completely. Discard the skins and blitz the flesh in a blender. If the result is too firm, add a little of the water used to cook the plantains. Add the chillies and a pinch of salt, then leave the mixture to rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Shape the mixture into small balls, then push into the centre of each a little grated or small piece of cheese and a piece of pancetta, sealing the mixture around the filling. Fry the bolón in hot oil until golden all over, then enjoy them with a fried egg and the freshest fruit juice.

Extracted from Breakfast is Served by Laura Ascari and Elisa Paganelli (Mitchell Beazley, approx €15), www.octopusbooks.co.uk