plantain emergency

[Chufi]

I sent my husband to the market for bananas and he came back with plantains. ("Honey, they looked like nice fat bananas to ME!")

I have no idea how to use them. All the recipes I can find in my cookbooks are for green plantains (fried, chips etc), but these are quite ripe (yellow with lots of black spots).

What can I do with them?

[Milagai]

you can adapt the green plantain recipes for the riper ones;

they will just be a little squishier and taste a little sweeter.

they're great when spiced up, as the tastes complement each

other very well.

milagai

[beccaboo]

I made this pie once, and we all liked it.

[chefreit]

Google,

"Chef Norman's New World Cuisine."

He has some great plantain recipes.

[slbunge]

Even if they are a bit ripe, you can slice them and pan fry them in a good bit of vegetable oil. Top with a spicy tomato-based salsa. I like to use roasted tomatoes when pairing a salsa with plantains.

[KatieLoeb]

Make fufu! They're like mashed potatoes, but sweeter. Eaten in Africa and other parts of the world where the slave culture brought it (Caribbean, Latin America), it's a very delicious carbohydrate alternative.

There are recipes HERE and HERE

[andiesenji]

First I sauté some shallots or onions in butter and while cooking, slice the plantains in 1/2 to 3/4 inch diagonal slices then add them to the pan and sauté the slices until they begin to brown then sprinkle over them the juice of one lemon and the zest of the lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

I then transfer them to a shallow casserole, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and dot with goat cheese (or similar type fairly mild soft cheese).

Put in the oven at 300 degrees for about 25 minutes.

If you want them slightly spicy, add some hot pepper to the onions or shallots and sauté prior to adding the plantains.

Edited January 22, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[therese]

Embrace the sweetness and make maduros.

[Pan]

Therese's solution is the one I would have proposed. I love ripe plantains.

[akur23]

What can I do with them?

←

here's some:

I'm making these tonight:

Piononos

sort of lasagna:

Piñon

or just plain:

Amarillos

[Chufi]

thanks all for the suggestions. Tonight I sliced some of them and fried in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and served with braised chicken. Very tasty! I did find you need to keep a close eye on the pan, they burn easily.

So.. I sliced up and fried ripe plantains. Now did I make maduros or amarillos??

I think I will make fufu tomorrow with the rest of them. And maybe I will try some of the more elaborate dishes in the future! I added another ingredient to my repertoire.

Edited January 22, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[NulloModo]

Make some jibaritos, the greatest contribution Cuba has ever made to world cuisine.

[Chufi]

maduras, jiparitos, amarillos!! remember people, I'm from Amsterdam - Mexican cuisine is as almost as foreign to us as Dutch cuisine is to you!

[lmswartz]

A couple of weeks ago I had some very ripe plantains, so I looked in my Cuban cookbooks and found a couple of similar recipes for the following dish. It turned out great!

"Plantanos a la Tentacion"

(baked sweet plantains - not a dessert, but a side dish for spicy or intensely-flavored Cuban/Creole entrees)

4 medium very ripe plantains (skins should be almost totally black), peeled

1/2 cup dry white wine or light rum

1/4 cup dry sherry

1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chopped into pieces

salt to taste

cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the plantains in an ovenproof casserole, pour the wine, sherry, and sugar over them, scatter the butter over them, and sprinkle with salt and spices.

2. Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes. Uncover, turn the plantains over, baste, and bake uncovered until golden brown on top, another 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.

[Apicio]

Exactly like Therese’s solution. Sliced three-ways lengthwise and fried. Sprinkle with white sugar and douse with rum or brandy.

[NulloModo]

A Jibarito is a Cuban plantain based sandwhich.

My favorite is the Jibarito con Pernil. Basically, do the following:

Slice the plantains into medium thickness slices, overlap as to form something similar to the width of a sub roll unless they are huge, and fry them until they are lightly browned and hold together.

Take the makeshift plaintain 'bread' slather with mayo, then top with roasted pork (carnitas is best), cheese (I usually see processed cheese used, but any cheese would work), romaine lettuce, tomato, onion, a little hot sauce, and serve.

[chef koo]

think of things you would do with sweet potato and try it with plantains

[Chufi]

well, I tried to make the piononos tonight ( I confess, partly because that is one of the strangest sounding names for a dish I've ever heard).

After I fried the slices, I tried to roll them up into a ring like the recipe said, but they fell apart. Maybe my plantains were to ripe for this?

Anyway, I layered the slices and stuffing in an ovendish, poured some eggs over it and baked. Turned out very tasty. Served them with spicy black beans.

I will definitely buy plantains again and try some more recipes.

And, completely off topic: I have new baby rats arriving in a couple of days, and am still looking for names for my new pets. I have now decided that Fu-Fu will make a very cute name for one of them.

Edited January 24, 2005 by Chufi (log)

[akur23]

well, I tried to make the piononos tonight ( I confess, partly because that is one of the strangest sounding names for a dish I've ever heard).

The name comes from a pope, Pio IX (Pio nono in latin), because they're supposed to resemble his hat.

I don't know why they fell apart on you... will have to ask my mom.

[Pan]

A couple of weeks ago I had some very ripe plantains, so I looked in my Cuban cookbooks and found a couple of similar recipes for the following dish.  It turned out great!

"Plantanos a la Tentacion"

(baked sweet plantains - not a dessert, but a side dish for spicy or intensely-flavored Cuban/Creole entrees)[...]

←

They used to make a dessert like that in Bayamo on Broadway in the East Village, except that they flambeed the plantains in the rum and accompanied them with dulce de leche ice cream. It was a delicious dessert!

[LizzieH]

My kids, who have a Dutch dad, love ripe plaintains sauted in butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, with their pannekoeken.

[prasantrin]

Plantains--I've been lucky enough to purchase 3 big plantains, still green, but starting to yellow. Three big plantains are quite a lot for one person, so once they are ripe, can I freeze them in their skins, like one freezes ripe bananas? If I do that, would it change their texture so much that I wouldn't be able to slice them up and fry them?

Also, if I open up a plantain and cook part of it, can I preserve the rest for a day or two, or should I cook it all right away?

I'm a plantain newbie, and I'm afraid to waste my Y450 worth of plantains!

[Florida]

Wow, considering how cheap they are in the States, I never thought about freezing plaintains.

Personally, I would recommend cooking each one at a different stage of ripening so you gain an appreciation of their versatility.

And, by the way, they're not fully ripe until they're totally black. If yours are just turning yellow, you have at least a week, if not two, before they'll be entirely ripe.

[prasantrin]

Wow, considering how cheap they are in the States, I never thought about freezing plaintains.

Personally, I would recommend cooking each one at a different stage of ripening so you gain an appreciation of their versatility.

And, by the way, they're not fully ripe until they're totally black.  If yours are just turning yellow, you have at least a week, if not two, before they'll be entirely ripe.

←

Funny thing is, living in Japan when the guy told me they were Y450, I thought, "Wow! That's cheap!" I'd have bought more if they had any!

Can I cook the plantains the same way regardless of the ripeness? I mostly just want to fry them or sautee them in some butter.

Although I did find a recipe for Pionono I want to try, and that one said to wait until they're yellow almost orange.

Another question about ripeness since you bring it up, I've been reading different things about when to know they're ripe. Some say they have to be totally black, but some say orangey with black spots, and some say yellow with black spots. I know I can use them at any stage, but what stage would be the best to bring out the sweetness of sauteeing (sort of caramelizing) them?

[Kajikit]

When I have plantains I usually just fry or roast them (ripe plantains roast up beautifully using much less fat than frying)... but those piononos sound delicious. I'll have to try that out some time.