A Plateful of Plantains

Homemade Plantain "Chips"

A note to my faithful readers in the blogosphere:  today is a special day.  Not because it’s snowing in April–which, while odd, is not entirely unexpected for Michigan–but because this is my 200th post!  While we can’t share celebratory libations over the Internet, I thought I’d give you a bit of the tropics to re-create in your own kitchen.  (Your imagination will have to fill in the sunny skies and coconut-rum daiquiris…)

We’ve all enjoyed soft yellow bananas  in banana splits, smoothies, banana bread, etc., but unless you’ve been in Latin America or have amigos who like to throw dinner parties, you may not have sampled savory plantains.  (Large red bananas, too, fall in the same category.  The small ones are sweet, just like their yellow cousins.)  These savory versions look like bananas…except that their peels are nearly rock-hard, they require a bit of skill and a knife to peel, and their flesh is almost potato-like in consistency and taste.  In other words, plantains are main dish while bananas are the dessert.

To prepare plantain chips, carefully score two parallel slits somewhat close together in the plantain skin.  (It’s fairly thick and tough, so you may have to press fairly hard to score it.)  Use these helper-slits to pull off the first section of the skin.  Continue peeling until all of the skin and the fibrous underside of it is removed–when you’re done, the plantain should look like a standard banana.  Cut it into even rounds.

Fry the plantain chips in ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil over high heat, occasionally shaking the pan to make sure they don’t burn.  If you’re a whiz at crepe-flipping, go ahead and flip the chips the same way.  If you’re more of a miss-the-pan-and-drop-’em type, use a spoon or tongs to turn over each chip.  As soon as both sides have acquired a golden-brown tinge, remove them from the heat, season with sea salt, and serve piping hot.  These chips make a great accompaniment to a Latin dish (think Cuban rice and pork or corn-and-bean tortillas) or as a stand-alone snack.  You can also mash them and serve them as an alternative to mashed potatoes.

Enjoy!

Tags: caribbean, costa rica, plantains