Patacones - A Panamanian Delight

So back in July I traveled to Panama with a great team from work.

We ate a lot different foods, the Sancocho was ok, my taste buds were not fond of the rare vegetable. 

There was one dish we had as appetizer that I took upon myself to recreate and perfect: 

Theirs: Patacones with chicken, had a layer of refried beans on the deep fried plantain, then the chicken, lettuce, and cheese topped with a red onion.

See plate below:

The patacones were good! Hence why I choose to recreate that dish.

Below is my first attempt:

What is different?

I added: I switched the chicken to be tastier, used the recipe of the Salvadoran Chicken Sandwhich for the chicken, then I chose cabbage over lettuce to make it crispier...also added pico de gallo (avocado, lime juice, cilantro, tomatoes, red onion)

I also served with a side of rice. It was a hit!

Here is a second dish: same way as the first one, without the beans. Now, I prefer with beans as it gives it a contrast in flavour! 

And served with a bit more of yellow rice and avocado in the side.

You cannot go wrong with this. Choose other ingredients as you see fit and also make sure the Patacon or Toston will hold that much. I would add radish, and even a bit of beets to contradict the flavors as to have an explosion of tastiness!

Bon apetito!