Feature Item: Plantains

Every few days, we’ll feature a new fruit or vegetable in the store. Maybe it’ll be a little weird (i.e., not native to American cuisine), maybe it’ll be something familiar with some creative recipe suggestions, maybe it’ll be something you’ve seen before but not known exactly what it is you’re supposed to do with it.

This week, it’s plantains! Here’s a copy of the recipe sheet available in the store:

Plantains are starchier versions of the banana that are plentiful in Latin American and African cuisine. Plantains can be eaten when green-yellow (for a firmer fruit that holds up well in cooking) or when fully ripe and yellow-black (they won’t ripen on their own, though, if this is the way you want to eat them, stick them by some tomatoes for a few days…the chemicals released by tomatoes trigger the ripening process). Plantains are usually cooked and served as a side dish or dessert.

Serving Suggestions:
**Fry some green plantains for a quick snack! Peel them first– we recommend cutting off the ends, halving it, and prying the skin from the fruit inside—and then cut into small chunks or slices. Deep fry in vegetable oil and salt. A little brown sugar makes it a nice dessert!
**Try sautéing or boiling the plantain and mashing with brown sugar or honey and a little oil.
**Cut into chunks and boil to add bulk to a hearty fall soup.

Recipe Suggestions:
GREEN PLANTAIN PANCAKES
Peel and grate 2 GREEN PLANTAINS, add SALT AND PEPPER to taste. Add a small amount of water, just enough to make the paste stick together. Deep fry, garnish with CILANTRO, HORSERADISH SAUCE, or SYRUP.

CREAM OF PLANTAIN SOUP
Saute TWO SMALL ONIONS, CHOPPED and FOUR GARLIC CLOVES, CHOPPED in OLIVE OIL. Add FOUR GREEN PLANTAINS, PEELED, CHOPPED, and cook until golden brown. Add 4 CUPS VEGETABLE STOCK, 3 BAY LEAVES, and SALT AND PEPPER to taste.

Above recipes adapted heavily from www.sunshine-tropical.com

Also on the shelves: dirt cheap GIANT plums (size of an apple, 50 cents a piece), guavas, fresh asparagus, lemongrass, starfruit, more Hawaiian baby papayas, lady apples, delicata squash.