Plantain!
Being Nigerian, this delicious snack brings back a lot of memories from when I was a child growing up at home. While commonly fried in a lot of households, I have enjoyed a different variation of baking my plantain. By baking, it's a bit healthier with less unnecessary fats added. What makes plantain healthy? It is a great source of natural sugar, potassium and magnesium which work really well together in the body. Both are needed for cellular metabolism and cellular message transmission along with muscle function and bone health. Very important especially for the fitness enthusiasts and a great way to replenish glycogen stores after a workout.
My method for baking my plantain is quite simple: I lightly coat in a high-temp stable oil like avocado oil and sprinkle with a little himalayan pink salt. Bake for 20-30 min at 375 degrees fahrenheit until golden brown. Some pieces may require being flipped or turned over. The coating of oil helps give a nice crispness on the outside while keeping the inside soft and chewy. The saltiness complements the subtle natural sweetness found in plantain. The best state of ripeness for cooking plantain is when the plantain skin/peel is yellow with black spots- almost fully brown/black. This may seem overripe when thinking about its cousin, the banana, but it is actually quite perfect when cooking with plantain. You will likely find this fruit in bright green state at the store so it may take a few days for it to fully ripen and reach cooking readiness. When underripe, the plantain will be bitter and very hard to chew. See more pictures below for before and after!
Bon Apetit!
Note the color of the plantain skin/peel for perfect baking sweetness and texture |
Brown on the outside skin/peel, but still perfect color and firmness on the inside of fruit |
No comments
Post a Comment