When in the Caribbean…
…Make plantains.
Never had a plantain? I’d describe it as a heartier banana that almost borders on the texture of a sweet potato, sliced and fried similarly. In fact, plantains are often used as the potato or pasta of the Caribbean because they are starchy. The way I prepared them was a little sweet from the cinnamon and sugar and the flavor of the coconut oil seeped into them perfectly.
So the next time you see these in the market, don’t fear them.
Know that the inside is lovely and you can wind up with these. And they are so good. Just trust me on this one.
[print_this] Coconut Oil Fried Cinnamon Sugar & Ginger Plantains (vegan, gluten free) 2 plantains Coconut Oil 2 tbsp white sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger Directions: Peel the plantains and slice the flesh about 1/8th inch thick. Add enough coconut oil to the bottom of a skillet, heat it up, and fry the plantains about 90 seconds on each side. Remove plantain slices from the oil and lay them on paper towels to blot excess oil. While the plantains are cooling, combine sugar, cinnamon, and ginger in a small bowl. Add the plantains to the bowl, tossing with your hands to coat the slices before serving. Extras will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or two. Not necessarily “ideal” but still okay a day (or two) later. Optional: Omit cinnamon-sugar-ginger coating and try a savory coating Dip them in something (based on what kind of spices you used in your recipe) such as: a yogurt-based dip, ketchup, honey, ranch or Blue Cheese dressing, or smear them with extra coconut oil or butter, or make honey butter or honey coconut oil. I suspect a agave or honey-cream cheese-cinnamon-sugar dip would have been perfect with the recipe I used today (1/4 c cream cheese, 2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon; stir to combine & dip the slices in) [/print_this] Here’s a chart that highlights a few of the differences between plantains and bananas You don’t have to make the plantains with cinnamon and sugar. But that would be crazy. Why make something savory when you have a raging sweet tooth and can satisfy it with some cinnamon and sugary and still say that you’ve eaten your vegetables. You could make plantains with garlic and onions or any number of spices from cumin to turmeric to curry to just fry them in vegetable or olive with salt and pepper or no seasonings at all.
And yes, that’s a banana in the picture with the plantains. Just to keep you on your toes. For those who don’t “love” bananas (I like bananas in things, like in one of these, but am not really that keen on bananas just on their own), plantains don’t taste all that similar to bananas. A few hours later the extra plantain slices we didn’t inhale immediately were almost cake-like. Okay, cake is a stretch, but bread-like. Chewy and starchy and full of texture. Not mushy like a banana. If you’ve ever had dehydrated bananas, plantains have a similar texture.
They make for a great snack and I served them as a side to our dinner but I don’t even bother taking dinner pictures here anymore because the lighting is so atrocious. And with the cinnamon, sugar, and dusting of ginger at the end, good stuff.
But a dusting of cinnamon and sugar will always make things better for me. Case in point, Coconut Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds
Questions: Have you ever had plantains? If so, where and how were they prepared? Would you like to try them sometime? And if you want to get your hands on some free Coconut Oil (maybe to fry up some plantains), enter the Coconut Oil Giveaway that I have going on.
