Plantain Fritters with Rhubarb Mojo

So Vince Vaughn is filming "Untitled Cheating Project" on my block right now. Which makes it pretty much impossible to do anything. We had almost no food in the house, but didn't dare go to the grocery store last night and give up our choice blocks-away parking spot. We thought about ordering delivery, but since the road is closed, we worried it wouldn't make it to us. So I looked at the odds and ends I had lying around--plantains, rhubarb, most of an onion, exactly 4 cloves of garlic, half of a lime, and, uh, parsley (pictured, though I recommend cilantro below)--and decided to make this.

This, which turned out to be the best thing I'd ever eaten? One of the best, at least. I mean, my god, I love a fritter. And I've been hoping to try rhubarb in some savory applications. It was awesome here. Mojo (pronounced mo-ho!) is traditionally made with sour orange juice. I definitely did not have sour orange juice. But I knew I could cull a sour "juice" from the rhubarb. And so I did. And it was easy.

4 stalks rhubarb, cut horizontally into 3/4 inch slices
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt+pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the rhubarb, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and cook, covered, until the rhubarb breaks down, about 10 minutes. Strain this mixture, reserving the juice. There should be about 1/3 cup. Discard the rhubarb pulp.

In the same medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cumin and cook for just under 30 seconds, no more! Stir in the rhubarb juice. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
a squeeze of lime juice
1 pound just-ripe plantains, finely chopped
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
grapeseed oil for frying

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cumin, and chile powder. In a separate, smaller bowl, beat the egg, water, and lime juice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then add the plantains, onion, and garlic. Stir all until just combined.

Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large braising pan until it reaches 1/2 an inch up the side of the pan. Heat this oil over medium-high heat until it pops if you shake a TINY TINY bit of water into it. Drop large spoonfuls of the plantain batter into the oil, smoothing the spoonfuls out with the back of a spoon. Cook until both sides are nicely browned, 3-5 minutes per side. Drain fritters on a cut-open paper bag over a wire rack.

Serve soon with the rhubarb mojo sauce and cilantro garnish.

Makes about 15 fritters.

[Plantain fritter recipe adapted from the corn fritter recipe in Charmaine Solomon's Complete Vegetarian Cookbook]