Plantains Two Ways-MoFo Post Seven

Post #7 for Vegan MoFo 2013.

One of my favorite cooked fruits is the plantain. It is enjoyable both salty and sweet and can pair well with many different entrees. They are also versatile enough to be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In Puerto Rico, we had fried sweet plantains for breakfast one day and another we had boiled green bananas with onions and oregano. Which reminds me, I have to get my hands on some green bananas. 

Plantains that are not quite ripe

John and I have enjoyed plantains for years. We made up our own recipe which we enjoy, but are not likely authentic. For this MoFo post, we purchased four plantains and made them in two different way. The first way was tostones or patacones. Tostones is the Puerto Rican word for the dish, while patacones is the Colombian word. I believe the recipes are similar, however; I followed a recipe for tostones. Tostones are traditionally fried in quite a bit of oil, but we are not a fan of deep frying food and only used a small amount of oil (a couple of tablespoons for two plantains).  

I did not mash them well enough after the first pan fry, so they are not as large as traditional tostones. I think in the future, I will make the plantain slices larger. Even though the shape was not what I expected, I enjoyed the taste. We usually make plantains sweet and I tend to prefer savory items for dinner. 

I should have used a spatula to smash the tostones

The second plantain dish that we made had a citrus and sweet element to it. We generally use water or olive oil spray to pan saute the plantains. The end result is a crispy and browned plantain. The sweet element is usually agave nectar, however; we were fresh out of it and used maple syrup instead. We often have this as a dessert or wait and enjoy it after dinner. It is a simple dessert and minus the sugar, is healthy. 

My attempt at tostones

Sweet Sauteed Plantains

• 2 plantains, ripened to a brown-almost black color, and cut into slices
• 1 lime, cut in half
• 2 tsp of agave nectar or maple syrup
• Olive oil spray or water 

Sweet Sauteed Plantains

Prepare a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray with olive oil or with water. When warm layer the plantains in the skillet, do not overlap. Cook for about three minutes, flip over and cook three minutes more. When finished squeeze the lime juice over the plantains. Then drizzle the agave nectar. Let caramelize for about a minute and then flip over and cook for about a minute more. Serve immediately while warm.