Recipe: Easy Fried Plantains

One of my favourite foods to eat is the plantain banana.  They can be prepared so many different ways and always add some great colour and flavour to a meal.  What used to be considered an exotic fruit is now easily found at most local supermarkets.  If you've never eaten plantains before, it can be a bit confusing to choose the right banana for the dish you want to make.  For this dish, you want really ripe plantains that are soft to the touch, but not mushy.  The skin should be yellow in colour with some black already on the outside.  You want them to be soft to cook, but not mushy so that they fall apart. 



Sliced and ready to cook

This side dish is sweet and great for kids.  It can be served as is, or served with sour cream (or crema) to balance the flavours.  It could also be served as a dessert with some honey or rum, or with a scoop of ice cream.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

4 plantains, peeled and sliced diagonally
Oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan (Canola or another tasteless oil works best)

Directions

1- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil and heat at medium high.  Oil is hot when a drop of water sizzles when dropped in the pan.

2- Arrange plantain slices in a single layer in the frying pan.  You may have to cook more than one batch.  Fry, flipping once or twice, until bananas are soft and begin to caramelize.  How long you cook them for is personal preference.  I like mine almost burnt, but it's more common to see them cooked to a deep golden yellow. 

Serve while still warm.