You don’t need to be a gourmet cook in order to enjoy the taste of the Caribbean in your kitchen. Many West Indian dishes are surprisingly easy to prepare, yet very tasty. An emphasis on fruits, vegetables, rice, seafood, spices and herbs makes many Caribbean meals rather healthy choices as well.
Plantains
Plantains are a part of the banana family and are grown in tropical regions such as the Caribbean. They resemble bananas but have significant differences. They are regarded as a vegetable and not a fruit, and their taste and texture is starchier and less sweet than that of a banana. Their skin is thicker and they tend to be longer than bananas. While bananas can be eaten raw or cooked, plantains are meant to be cooked. Unlike bananas which will become mushy when overripe, plantains maintain their texture.
Even though plantains are not grown outside of tropic regions, they can easily be found in most grocery stores in America. You can also find them at local Caribbean or Latin American food stores.
The first recipe below calls for plantains that are ripe and look black in appearance. Since plantains sold in the store are green or yellow, this will require allowing them to sit at home for a few days until they ripen. Don’t refrigerate them and don’t store them in the same basket as vegetables while they are ripening, as this will cause vegetables to spoil. The second recipe calls for green plantains and the result is a dish similar in taste to the potato, hence the nickname of the plantain as the “potato of the Caribbean”.
Fried Plantains Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5-7 minutes
Ingredients
- Ripe plantains that are yellowish-black or completely black in color (one plantain per serving). Note: The darker the plantain, the sweeter it will be when cooked.
- Vegetable oil for cooking
Procedure
- Cut off the ends of the plantains and carefully peel the skin. This can be done with a knife since the skin is thick.
- Slice the plantain into thin slices as you would slice a banana.
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Place the plantain slices into the frying pan and cook on one side until golden or dark brown. Flip them over with a spatula and repeat.
- Remove the plantains from the frying pan and let drain on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- Let cool slightly and serve as a simple snack or as a side dish to other Caribbean dishes such as Jerk Chicken. For a variation, sprinkle with salt and serve as plantain chips.
Boiled Plantains
Prep Time: Less than 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients
- Green plantains (one per serving)
Procedure
- Cut the ends off of each plantain
- Using a knife, carefully slice open the skin of the plantain lengthwise, but do not remove the skin.
- Heat water in a large cooking pot until boiling.
- Boil the plantains with the skin on for 10-15 minutes, or until the insides are tender. Poke with a fork to determine tenderness.
- Remove plantains from water, let cool a little and carefully peel the skin off. The result is a food that tastes like a potato and can be served as a side dish with many Caribbean dishes, such as Saltfish. A variation is to boil the potatoes in the same water with the salted codfish used to make Saltfish. The excess salt from the codfish will naturally season the plantains.
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