5 Ways to Cook and Prepare Ripe Plantains

The primary time I ate a plantain was 30 years in the past within the Dominican Republic, after I was within the Peace Corps. I used to be at a small roadside market after I first noticed it—what regarded to me like a super-sized yellow banana. It was tough to peel, and after I lastly bit into it, I didn’t prefer it in any respect. This super-sized banana appeared to me the sweetest, starchiest, and most intense banana ever.

Thirty years later, I can now say that I like plantains! I’ve realized to arrange them in lots of dishes, and I discover them to be one of the crucial versatile meals on the market. Undoubtedly extra so than a daily banana. They are often consumed inexperienced, yellow, brown or black; ripe or unripe; cooked or raw (however not fairly often); baked, fried, steamed, boiled or grilled. In reality, I eat them no less than thrice per week. To maintain up with this craving, I’ve planted greater than 50 timber within the Global Roots gardens. However don’t fear, you too can discover them in lots of grocery shops within the U.S. Don’t let the brown or black ones intimidate you. They aren’t rotten, simply very ripe and candy. That is the easiest way to purchase them if you wish to bake them into “tortas.” However I’ll get to that quickly sufficient!

In addition to being a scrumptious and multi-talented fruit, plantains are additionally surprisingly nutritious. One cup of cooked plantains offers 36% of the advisable day by day worth for nutritional vitamins A and C, 27% for potassium (plantains are one of the crucial potassium-rich meals on the planet!), 24% for vitamin B6 and 16% for magnesium.

Don’t let the brown ones intimidate you. They aren’t rotten, simply very ripe and candy.

However how do you put together them? There are such a lot of methods, however for this text, I’d prefer to give attention to 5 of my favourite dishes utilizing ripe plantains (yellow, brown or black).

1. Plátanos Maduros – Boiled Plantains

This is among the best methods to arrange ripe plantains. I usually have them this fashion for breakfast, topped with sliced avocado. All you want is a big pot stuffed with 6-8 cups of water and a pair of teaspoons of salt. Carry the water to a boil. In the meantime, wash the plantain and lower off its ends. Hold the remainder of the peel on, for now. As soon as the water is boiling, slice the plantain in half and toss it in. Boil till you discover the plantain increasing from both sides that you simply sliced off, as if it’s pushing out of its pores and skin. Take away the plantain from the water and let sit for 10-Quarter-hour. As soon as it’s cooled, take away the pores and skin and luxuriate in!

2. Plátanos Maduros – Candy Baked Plantains

That is one other quite simple dish that’s simple to arrange. I like serving my plantains this fashion with Dominican Rice and Beans. I’d additionally encourage you to make use of no less than 5 plantains when cooking them this fashion as a result of they have an inclination to go rapidly.

First, preheat your oven at 350 levels Fahrenheit. Then, lower off the ends of your plantains. When you’ve completed that, slice by the pores and skin from one finish to the opposite. Be sure you’re solely chopping by the pores and skin! Make three cuts like this, alongside the size of the plantain on both sides, and pull off the pores and skin. When you’ve eliminated the pores and skin, lower the plantain in half after which slice it lengthwise into quarter-inch slices. Place these slices flat on a parchment-lined, non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle with powdered cinnamon. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip and proceed baking for one more 10 minutes or till browned. Serve together with your favourite dish.

3. Peanut Collard Greens With Plátanos Maduros

I like the mixture of the candy taste from the plantains combined with the peanutty greens. First, put together the plátanos maduros as described above. Whereas the plátanos maduros are baking, put together the Peanut Collard Greens. Serve the greens on high of the plátanos maduros and luxuriate in!

4. Torta de Plátano

This loaf is moist, fluffy, and straightforward to make. It’s a bit stronger than banana bread and—just like the boiled plantains above—makes for a fantastic breakfast. I usually serve it with recent fruit and my favourite cup of ginger or ardour fruit tea. Keep in mind, the darker the plantains, the sweeter they’re. If you happen to use your ripest plantains for this recipe, you received’t want any sugar in any respect!

5. Caribbean Salad With Plátanos Maduros

Baked candy plantains sprinkled with cinnamon are an exquisite addition to inexperienced salads, particularly when ready with tomatoes, onions, black beans and guacamole. I usually like this salad with out dressing, however I do squeeze a little bit of lemon juice on high and add a little bit of salt. Along with this dish, I additionally like including plátanos maduros to my kale salads.

Don’t be afraid to experiment together with your plantains. Discover different methods to arrange and mix candy plantains and remark beneath on what works greatest for you!