Fried Dessert Plantains a La Colombiana

This is the the story of two little brothers, who grew up together but had to walk separated paths. Now, they're travelling the world, looking for adventures, wonders and treasures. Both brothers are gifted: one inherited his mother's great culinary skills and learned how to cook tasty dishes. There is no impossible recipe for him and he always has the perfect touch to make everything delicious!

On the other hand, the second brother learned how to... build junkbots and stuff using plastic trash.

But not today, because Instructables' Fried Day caught me on town, so I will share with you how to make delicious plantains filled with mozzarella cheese and some typical Colombian sweets: Arequipe (or "Dulce de Leche") and Bocadillo (guava paste), a dessert so easy to prepare even the not-cook-in-a-million-years sibling of the Caicedo-Langer family can prepare. This is my first kitchen instructable, so I hope you enjoy it.

CAUTION: Due to their thick consistency, hot arequipe and bocadillo are known to be extremely tongue burners ("Napalm in your mouth" level). So, before eating, wait a few minutes until these sweets get warm.

Step 1: Ingredients

If you are in South America you won't have problem finding the ingredients. But if you are in North America, probably you will need to visit the latino neighborhood of your city. In San Francisco there is Mission District, in Mission St. and 22nd.

• Mature plantains: you can determinate it by the peel color: yellow with big black spots.
• Mozzarella cheese: In Colombia, we use "Doblecrema" cheese. But Mozzarella is your best choice.
• Arequipe: It has different name in South America, depending of the country you are: Arequipe, Cajeta, Manjar, Manjar Blanco, Dulce de Leche. If you can't find it, here is an instructable of how to do it.
• Bocadillo: A traditional guava paste from Colombia. Most of the times, you can find it enveloped on plantain leaves. If you can't find the Bocadillo, you will have to use only Arequipe.
• Oil: Canola or peanut.

Step 2: Prepare the Plantains

Cut both tips of the plantain, then open the peel with a lengthwise cut (from tip to tip). Make a lengthwise cut on the plantain, being careful of no cutting completely (or you will have a plantain cut in halves). Just reach the center of the plantain and stop.

Step 3: Preparing Bocadillo and Cheese

Cut bocadillo and cheese in thin strips (NOTE: thinner than the strips on the photo)

Step 4: The Filling

Spread some arequipe inside the plantain, then insert bocadillo and mozzarella strips. Insert three toothpicks on each plantain, avoiding the plantains fall apart when frying.

Step 5: Fry the Plantains

Don't you have a fryer? No problem! You have two ways for frying the plantains:

1. Traditional: put the plantains in a pan with a little bit of oil. Put the lid and wait until the bocadillo and the cheese get melted and the plantain gets brown and soft enough for being cutted with a fork (my favorite way).
2. Fried Day: Put the plantains into a fryer at 325 F until it gets brown and soft. At the end, add some extra arequipe.

Remove the plantains from the pan/fryer. Put on a paper towel for absorving the excess oil. Serve the plantain and, if you want, put some vanilla ice cream. Delicious!