When I was scarfing down the baked plantains I had but one regret, that there was too much flavor going on. The spices and the sweetness needed something to contrast with. Much like peanut butter, marshmallow cream and chocolate complement a banana, my plantains needed a little boost. I was actually intensely excited to try this method because, I mean, come on you fry them.
These would take a different approach to slicing instead of lengthwise, which still stresses me out even though I did just fine cutting them up, you just chop them up into discs. Simple preparation honestly, you chop them up and throw them in some hot oil until crispy.
Frying things has always made me nervous, and truth be told, I still haven’t fried any kind of meat because I’m terrified it will come out under cooked but somehow still burnt because I think I could manage that happening somehow. Plus you got the oil that could get everywhere, your kitchen will smell like oil and you’ll feel like you’ve bathed in it even if a single drop didn’t touch you. As much as I love fried foods I have obviously not fried much in my life.
This is a blog of trying new things though so I got over that real quick after I pulled out the first batch of plantains that were golden and I could just imagine them being crisp and salty like a chip. Good thing I didn’t forget to salt them after taking them out! Bad thing I only had enough to salt one batch so half of them are peppered plantains. Salt has been the thing we’ve needed the past few weeks but I never remember to write it down but now the day has come that my house is completely salt-less.
Anyway, back to these delicious little morsels. I also worried that I put too much oil in the pan so when I would fish them out they would just be greasy and taste like vegetable oil. I’m so glad I was wrong and that some other expectations I had were completely broken.
The baked plantains didn’t really have too much of a banana taste, although it still had one, it just wasn’t too strong. First bite of these and I got the banana flavor I had dreamed of and then some. These are delightful to munch on and I feel pretty proud on a personal level that they didn’t get too dark and crunchy. The outside stayed crisp and the inside was like a pillow.
I have to admit that I can see myself frying up another batch and maybe seeing if I could find a good sauce to go with them, although I’m not entirely sure what that would be. I know fried plantains are usually a side with other things and I would love to find some tasty things to pair them up with just to have another excuse to make these again. Why are you still reading, go fry some plantains!
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