Mashed Plantain Croquettes with Pork Cracklings and Goat Cheese (Machuquillo)

Adapted from a Cuban original for service at Hacienda Xcanatún, near Mérida, Yucatán

Machuquillo arrives in Yucatán by way of Cuba, and further back by way of West Africa, where the ancestor dish — known as Fu Fu, Foufou, or Foutou depending on the country — was a thick paste of boiled starchy root vegetables pounded to a mush. The Cuban version replaces those roots with plantain, folds in garlic and chicharrón (pork cracklings), and serves the paste in a bowl under broth. This Hacienda Xcanatún adaptation goes further: the paste is formed around a core of chilled goat cheese, shaped into elongated croquettes, and deep-fried at 190°C (375°F) until the shell sets golden and the cheese softens within. The dish travels well as an accompaniment to rich proteins — duck magret above all — and holds its own as a first course or passed finger food at a reception. Its lineage is explicitly Afro-Caribbean, not Yucatecan Maya, and it should be presented as such.

The outer shell delivers a starchy, lightly spiced crunch — the poaching aromatics (star anise, canela, allspice) are present but restrained, a background warmth rather than a dominant flavour. The chicharrón inside the paste adds saline, porky bursts of texture that contrast with the smooth mash. At the centre, the goat cheese has softened but not fully melted, retaining enough structure to deliver a cool, acidic note against the hot, fatty shell. The overall effect is rich and satisfying, with enough acidity from the cheese to prevent the dish from feeling heavy.