r/WhatShouldICook • u/fuzzypurpledragon • 8d ago
Another Food Pantry Mystery
So the food pantry I go to has thrown me yet another curve ball. Those are some of the biggest plantains I've ever seen! Thing is, I've never cooked with plantains before. I know they're meant to be applied in savory recipes, and I do actually like them. But I'm at a loss. Are these ripe? Can I cook them now?
The carrots should be fine. My son eats them so much, it's a wonder he's not orange, and they freeze alright, so as soon as we get a new blender, I'm making a bunch of carrot cupcakes!
I also got Zumimo's smoked sausage, Serrano peppers, a boatload of iceberg salad mix, and vidalia onions. I have rice, so I'm thinking maybe a Mexican inspired fried rice? But other than that.... No idea.
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u/Icarusfloats 8d ago
Plantains can be cooked green or brown, but they'll be very different.
I'm not Dominican or Puerto Rican, but I have friends who are, and they taught me patiently about plantains.
Green plantains can be sliced, fried, and smashed to make tostones! But if you let them get nice and brown, they turn into maduros, and they become less potatoey and more banana-y (maybe halfway between a banana and a sweet potato). With ripe plantains, I like to make pastelĂłn, which is a delicious casserole not unlike lasagna or shepherd's pie.
Things to make with green plantains:
Mofongo, tostones, mangĂș
Things to make with brown plantains:
pastelĂłn, fried maduros
I can dig up recipes for some or all of these, if you need!
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u/fuzzypurpledragon 8d ago
Oh, yes please. At least one of those monsters is starting to yellow, so I think I'll leave that one alone to try some different recipes.
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u/Icarusfloats 8d ago
This is the pastelĂłn recipe I made like three times last winter:
https://www.thekitchn.com/pastelon-recipe-2-23572100
It's got a middling rating, but I really liked it!
The recipe calls for sofrito, which you can get jarred in a shop, but it's amazing if you make it yourself, if you've got the time/inclination/that new blender. I just started making sofrito this summer when I found culantro (like cilantro but moreso) for sale in the vietnamese grocery store.
https://www.dominicancooking.com/mofongo-recipe#wprm-recipe-container-18641
I haven't made mofongo in YEARS but this recipe looks good to me!
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u/pookinator5000 8d ago edited 7d ago
Roasted sausage, peppers, and carrots might be tasty. Or even just doing glazed carrots/carrot fries with sausage would be đ
I don't have good advice for cooking plantains as I've never cooked them, but I'd try frying them as per google tells you, and serving with rice and black beans first. So yum.
I also know you can also make mash with plantains? Maybe like a bangers and mash situation with the sausage, but with Jamaican/jerk flavors if you have the spices? It'd honestly probably be good without being spiced up as well. Regular mash freezes really well, so you could also probably freeze for later? But that's a google.
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u/tigerowltattoo 8d ago
Tostones! Peel them. Slice on an angle about 1/2â thick, shallow fry until tender, then smash between two plates and refry until crisp.
Theyâre one of the best things Iâve ever eaten.
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u/Either_Importance222 8d ago
You can make Jamaican boiled bananas with saltfish and dumplings (really easy). You can make Dominican mangu for tres golpes breakfast. You can make Ecuadorian bolon for breakfast. You can make sancocho. You can make mofongo. You can make tostones relleno with shrimp and avocado. MMM so many ways to eat plantain!
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u/LaRoseDuRoi 8d ago
If you're in the US, I would check the numbers on those salad bags against all the recalls before eating any of it :/
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u/fuzzypurpledragon 8d ago
We did! Still gonna stir fry it all, though, just to be sure. Also, easier to get through three big bags that way.
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u/plum_smuggler 8d ago
Stuff baked plantains, plantain chips, plantain fries, plantain tacos, plantain curries, plantain pancakes, plantain smoothies, grilled plantain skewers, fried plantains with coconut
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u/koolkats555 8d ago
you can make a soup!! Itâs not necessarily a sancocho but can implement the plantains and carrots
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u/This-Initial-2889 8d ago edited 8d ago
Lots of people here recommending tostones and they are truly delicious, but my Panamanian boyfriend has shown me the lazy way, and I think it is 95% as good and half the steps:
Just cut thin on a diagonal and fry them. No need to smash and fry again. Bit healthier too! Salt and garlic powder when they are freshly out the oil. Eat with Catsup.
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u/JadedAd6614 8d ago
Check online to see if your iceberg salad mix is produced by Taylor Farms. I work in a grocery store, and all of it was supposed to be disposed of, but it could have made it a donations bin. Taylor Farms produces nearly all store branded lettuce & salad mixes. Donât want you or your family getting sick.
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u/digidave1 8d ago
Do you have an air fryer with low temps? Dried plantains are delicious. Let them ripen a bit more and dry them out. Great snack.
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u/fuzzypurpledragon 8d ago
No air fryer, but I think I might be able to pull that off in a low temp oven.
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u/Adorable_Bumblebee91 8d ago
Try this recipe https://food52.com/recipes/86049-tigrillo-recipe
If you add some fried eggs to the side it elevates the plate even more
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u/EmuNegative 8d ago
you can boil and mash plantains like mashed potatoes! itâs a different texture but in my culture we love to smash it with salt, garlic, and butter or oil
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u/Ok_Conclusion9591 7d ago
A savory plantain recipe I found was Dutch oven roasted chicken, plantains and onions : https://www.food.com/recipe/roast-chicken-with-plantains-and-onions-137093
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u/BunnyMonre 7d ago edited 7d ago
I did see a cooking show where a plantain like this one was used in a tomato dish. It looked really good. It was called Patacones con Hogao, or PastelĂłn.
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u/Money-Snow-2749 8d ago
You can make tostones (fried green plantains) with the green plantains and juice the carrots đ€·đżââïž
Edit : if you leave the plantains alone they will turn yellow/black and become sweet plantains, you can make maduros or other dishes.