Cooking for Gringas: Platanos Maduros

It's time for another post in my new favorite series:

A plantain is a fruit that likes to impersonate a vegetable, and it resembles some kind of banana mixed with a potato. They can be served a million different ways, but one of the most common ways is sweet and fried (as though they were after my Southern heart). Their versatility allows them to accompany an array of dishes, and they're guaranteed to dazzle dinner guests by introducing them to exotic flavors that they may not be accustomed to. Best of all, they're pretty easy to make!

First, buy some plantains. There is much debate surrounding yellow versus green plantains. I've found that green plantains are more savory and more difficult to peel, while yellow plantains are more sweet and easier to peel. Regardless of your preference, you need to allow 5-7 days for the plantains to ripen. The Spanish word maduros actually means ripe. And we're not talking about a-few-brown-spots-ripe; your plantains need to be nearly black, like so:

To cook three large plantains, you will need 1/2 cup of canola oil and 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar. You can make more or less plantains; my skillet just happens to hold three.

 

Next, peel your plantains. Unfortunately, this isn't as easy as peeling a banana, but slicing off the tips is a good trick to get you started. Once peeled, slice the plantain into 3/4-inch thick slices, on the bias.

                      

  

Pour the brown sugar into a small bowl and give the slices a toss in there. You don't have to coat each slice in brown sugar; just a little dusting will suffice in order to improve the caramelization process.

Heat your oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it's nice and hot, gently place your slices in the skillet. The key to the plantain-cooking process is to be gentle. If your plantains are as ripe as they should be, they'll be very delicate...and you don't want to mess up that pretty shape that you created with your perfect bias slices! I've found that using plastic tongs helps (metal is too harsh and a plastic spatula is too cumbersome).

As your plantains cook, minimize contact between slices. That brown sugar is going to make for a sticky situation. You'll know it's time to flip them over when you can see the crispy caramelized bottom creeping up the sides of each slice, like so:

When you flip them over, they should look just slightly crispy, like this:

Our perrita gringa recognized this smell and, the eternal optimist that she is, truly believed that today was the day she would finally get to try platanos. Wrong.

Once both sides are cooked evenly, drain over paper to cool/get rid of some of the grease. Make sure it's parchment or wax paper, and not paper towels, like I used the first time I made these guys.

Rookie mistake.

Have you ever had plantains before?  What's your favorite plantain dish?