The Flavors Of Our Neighbors: At Don Quijote, It’s Important To Feel At Home

Sandra Almonte, owner of Don Quijote, uses a pilón to make mofongo, a dish that’s popular in the Dominican Republic. (Gabriela Lozada/NHPR)

As the mid-week lunch rush picks up at Don Quijote, salsa music plays in the kitchen as oil crackles and the chop-chop of onions, peppers and cilantro echoes. Huge pots of carne guisada simmer on the stove.

Green plantains are ready to go in case a client orders one of the Manchester, N.H. restaurant’s defining dishes: mofongo.

Mofongo is popular in the Dominican Republic and combines fried plantain, garlic, adobo, butter with chicharrón or shrimp, and if desired, a side of pernil.

One of the cooks adds everything into a wooden mortar and pestle, known as a pilón.

“The most important thing about this mofongo and this kitchen,” the cook says, “is that everything is made with love.”

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