That Isn't a Banana...

I learned about plantains from Marc Cuban. He had made a crispy version (made from the green variety I think...) fried in oil with lots of whole, smashed garlic and sprinkled with salt. Absolutely delicious!

This variety has more yellow and is softer and has a sweetness like banana but should not be eaten raw!

Supplies:

1 Plantain(s)

2 Allspice berries grated

3 - 4 "Christmas" peppers or pequins

1 tsp salt

1 cup of water

OPTIONAL

oil for frying

tasso or other pork

orange

Step 1: Preparation

Put water and salt in a pan and stir to dissolve, add smashed peppers. (These are very hot peppers, use gloves or mash in a bag) Make the slices large, about 0.5 inches wide. Put in the water and let soak about 30 minutes. Grate Allspice berries and let sit another 5 - 10 minutes.

This method reduces the hotness of these peppers and leaves only a hint of them in the finished meal.

Step 2: Cooking

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a skillet, pan fry some slices of tasso/preserved pork sausage and remove for later. Using a non-stick surface (plastic bags work too) firmly press the slices and flatten them. Place them in a medium high heat to fry, browning on both sides about 1 - 3 minutes, remove and cool before eating.

Serve with thin slices of orange and fried tasso

Step 3:

Comments

[jessyratfink]

Yum! Love plantains :D