Plantians

We love these things, but are still fairly new to them.
Started out last summer just slicing them in half lengthwise and putting them on the grill until the peel pulled away, then topping with honey.
A couple time recently I did the same thing, but on my kitchen griddle, cutting/peeling them various ways, adding honey and salt...
Saw them mashed on a cooking show, but they only said that they added butter and honey but didn't explain the cooking process at all.

So, do you like plantains?
How do you cook them?

I've only had them in restaurants, so I don't eat them often and have no idea how to cook them. But whenever I see them on the menu, I'll order them. They are delicious.

I've had them fried like french fries at a cuban place. Awe some.

I once had dinner at the home of some Venezuelans. They sliced the plantains in rounds, and sauteed/fried them in a skillet (mashing them down slightly) until golden brown, and topped with garlic salt. Pretty yummy!

I like Puerto Rican mofongo relleno.

Cloud;641759 wrote:

I once had dinner at the home of some Venezuelans. They sliced the plantains in rounds, and sauteed/fried them in a skillet (mashing them down slightly) until golden brown, and topped with garlic salt. Pretty yummy!

I've read this twice as "I once had a dinner of some Venezuelans."

:eek:

I've had them dipped in batter and fried. That's for dessert.

In Jamiaca on our honeymoon, they were served as a side to meat stew. I think they had been lightly fried. They were also served fried at breakfast, as an addition to a Full English.

This sounds like the way it they were usually served when we went to Costa Rica. fried in butter with brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon. There seemed to be a lot of variation in the recipes some were more savory others sweeter.

Plantians. Like Martians but plant form? Triffids? :p:

In the Philippines they bake them, and call them sagging(Pronounced sah-ging.)

Samoans cook them with coconut milk and onion. It's pretty nice.

spudcon;641989 wrote:

In the Philippines they bake them, and call them sagging(Pronounced sah-ging.)

Bake them... just on a cookie sheet, or like a casserole or...?

I forgot to mention, a mixture of butter, brown sugar, and spices rum is a good sauce to pour over them after grilling. We made it for the grilled pineapples, but loved it peaches and plantains too.

jinx wrote:

a mixture of butter, brown sugar, and spices rum is a good sauce to pour over them after grilling.

In college I learned to make a banana dessert like this that I now suspect was supposed to be made with plantains, but we always made it with bananas. We just spooned the butter/brown sugar/rum mixture on top of bananas cut in half lengthwise, and put them in the oven for a few minutes to warm... but then when you pulled them out, you had to serve them with dollops of sour cream. I know, it sounds crazy, but it was so freaking good.

I have not conquered the plantain yet but the way you all describe cooking them seems a snap and delicious.

because of the typo in the title, i thought at first this was some new breed of vegetarian.

I can't remember the last time I had plantains.

In the market they are usually green, but yesterday they had yellow ones with a sign that said, "Ripe Plantains". Do you have to wait until they ripen before you cook them?

I've been happier with the results of working with ripe ones vs green. Getting the peel off a green one is an ordeal too...

I've only had plantains fried, in various restaurants. They are delicious.

Bruce, they're like two different animals. Green plantains are more like starchy root veggies (yucca, taro, et al). Ripe plantains can be more sweet and banana-y in flavor when fully cooked.

A lot of South American countries make those fried plantains. In my country they are known as "Tostones" because they resemble coins. Very easy to make, if you wanna give it a try:

1) Grab 2 plantains, cut them in 1/2-inch rounds.
2) Soak them in salt water for at least half an hour. (2 cups water + 1 tsp salt)
3) Grab a pan, add about 1/2 inch of oil and heat it up.
4) Add plantain rounds with enough space between them to fry up.
5) Fish out the fried plantain rounds, put them on a solid surface and lightly flatten them, taking care not to squish them all the way through.
6) Put the flattened rounds back in the hot oil until they are golden.


It's easy to do, and it's a great snack to have at gatherings. The only other way I've had them is in plantain cakes which are filled with fish and salsa, sort of like tamales.

excellent

Yum yum!

One of the best dishes I've ever had was the chiles rellenos, stuffed not with cheese, but with seasoned plantains and walnuts... at Pancho's Backyard, in Cozumel.

I got a molcajete for my birthday. I think I'll use it tonight to make a paste for something... roast pork? Maybe fish?

Dried ancho chilies, partially reconstituted
garlic
cumin
peanuts
lime juice

Come to think of it, I'll use it on shrimp. A few corn tortillas, some shredded cabbage, pintos on the side.... Aaah, just like my abuelita used to make. :)

I hope your molcajete is seasoned, or at least that you have a dental plan. :S

I'm still fighting with my sis-in-law for my mum's seasoned molcajete. My mums isn't even dead yet.

xoxoxoBruce;642250 wrote:

In the market they are usually green, but yesterday they had yellow ones with a sign that said, "Ripe Plantains". Do you have to wait until they ripen before you cook them?

Yeah, otherwise it's hell getting the peel off. It hangs on stubbornly unless you either let 'em sit until quite black all over, or do those cooking tricks described above. Think of a plantain as an armored banana that is tastier cooked than raw.

Plaintians? I suppose you cook them just like plaintains.

Up in the moundtains.

LittleWolf;642714 wrote:

I hope your molcajete is seasoned, or at least that you have a dental plan. :S

I'm still fighting with my sis-in-law for my mum's seasoned molcajete. My mums isn't even dead yet.

Interesting. It's not seasoned, but it seemed like any granite mortar-and-pestle jobbie -- I've used quite a few in India. No teeth were lost or broken.

Can you elucidate this concept of seasoning the molcajete? Inquiring minds want to know, and think you could do a more interesting job of describing it than mere googling.

I have one. Basalt.
By seasoned he means lots of food has got stuck in the nooks and crannies and rotted since they cant be thoroughly cleaned. Flavors carry over, and little bits break off here and there...

I don't use mine.

Cloud;643143 wrote:

Pla[COLOR=Red]i[/COLOR]ntians? I suppose you cook them just like pla[COLOR=Red]i[/COLOR]ntains.

Pro Tip:

When you set out to mock someone's typos, double check your own shit, dummy.

duh. I was just surprised I hadn't noticed it before. very silly!

There is a cooking blog that I follow that has a few posts for cooking plantains. Check out www.thefoodinmybeard.com

He makes chili with them, hash, something called Mofongo and there are a decent amount of posts with the word in them, so they may be included in those recipes.

Pie;643161 wrote:

Interesting. It's not seasoned, but it seemed like any granite mortar-and-pestle jobbie -- I've used quite a few in India. No teeth were lost or broken.

Can you elucidate this concept of seasoning the molcajete? Inquiring minds want to know, and think you could do a more interesting job of describing it than mere googling.

Molcajetes are all made from porous volcanic rock. Before you use your molcajete, we are taught to season it by grinding hard maiz kernels, or raw rice, anywhere from a few days to weeks depending on the type of molcajete you have.

The reason for this is because every time you use it, you will dislodge little bits of volcanic rock fragments into your food. While there is no health threat to this, it makes for sand-like texture and taste.

I have used many mortar and pestles, but molcajetes have an advantage because of the pores and jagged peaks. Taste won't lodge there necessarily, but the effect this has is a more throughout mashing job, giving a lot of taste.

If you want to compare, run the palm of your hand inside a normal mortar and pestle, and then try to do that in a molcajete.

My mum's molcajete was passed down from my great-grandmother, so it is very well seasoned and what we call "tamed".