Gold Medal Plantains

Oh the Plantain.  No need for this little jewel to remain a mystery.  When they're green they're starchy, almost like a potato.  When they're yellow with brown spots they look like bananas, and are just starting to sweeten up a bit.  When they're black, really really black, they're ripe.  Yes, they look disgusting at this point and not at all like something you would want to put in your mouth, but it's all a disguise.  Inside is a lovely piece of fruit that's just waiting to be turned into some sort of treat.  Don't balk at this.. I completely understand what you're thinking.  I'm one of those people who likes bananas on the firm side, just barely yellow.  When my bananas get brown spots, I'm no longer interested.  But black?!  Unless I was making Banana Bread I would never consider a black banana, which is exactly what you will think you're looking at.  This is different.  You're going to have to trust me on this one.

I've never had a plantain make it to fully ripe status in my kitchen (see above phobia of black bananas) so I'm pretty excited that yesterday my lovely housemate (who works in a produce market!) brought me a bag of ripe plantains to play with!  I'm pretty busy with work right now so I haven't had a lot of time to figure out what I'm going to do with all of them, but I managed to bust out a sweet little treat with one this afternoon.

A couple of things:

The amount of butter you will need will depend on the size of your pan and how many plantains you decide to make, just make sure the bottom of the pan is coated, no need for a full bath of butter (which I accidentally did using 2 Tbsp. butter in a small pan) but it won't hurt anything if this is what you end up with.  I used a non-stick pan just to be safe.

To peel the plantain try just slice off both ends and run a knife down the length of the skin to open it up then remove the fruit.  They don't peel like a banana. 

Before being cooked the fruit is still pretty dense so don't be afraid you're overcooking them, the longer they sit on the heat the softer and sweeter they become.

Ingredients:

One Ripe Plantain

1-2 Tbsp. Butter

Ground Cinnamon

Ground Cloves

Brown Sugar

The Outside Caramelizes Beautifully!

Melt the butter over medium heat.  While the butter is warming peel the plantain and slice into medallions.  Place the plantain medallions in the melted butter and sprinkle them with ground cinnamon and cloves.  If you don't have ground cloves don't fret, it will still be awesome!

Let them cook in the butter until they're a nice golden to dark brown, about 5-7 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until they're nice and soft. 

Remove from pan, sprinkle with brown sugar and ENJOY!!