La Petite Maison Verte: Pan-Fried Plantains and other Recent Eats

The other night for dinner I made deconstructed Mahi-Mahi taco salad with Grapefruit Salsa and some Pan-Fried Plantains on the side. It was GOOD!

It was my first time making plantains at home and it was SUPER easy!

Pan-Fried Plantains

serves 2

extra virgin olive oil

1 ripe plantain (the blacker it is, the sweeter it will be)

salt and pepper

cinnamon or other spices (cayenne pepper, caribbean spice blend, garlic, etc. - whatever you like)

The first step is to make sure they're ripe - yellow with lots of black spots OR completely black is my preference.

Then peel it like a banana. And cut it into about 1-2'' chunks. Heat a little extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat the pan) in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chopped plantains standing upright into the hot oil and sear 2-3 minutes or until golden on the bottom. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and a little cinnamon (or whatever spices you want). Then flip 'em onto their other side, season them a little more and sear on the other side - make sure you watch them closely. They can go from golden to burnt in just a few seconds!

Once they are softened and seared on both sides, remove them to a plate and use the back of a wooden spoon to smoosh them down (this is the FUN part). Put them back into the hot oil and sear another 1-2 minutes per side until evenly golden on both sides.

I've also been enjoying my Banana Chocolate Pecan cake that I made the other day. The recipe isn't perfect yet, so I'm not ready to share it BUT it was pretty darn good. I think I'm almost there, it just needs a little tweaking.

This morning's breakfast was SO satisfying.

1 slice of Ezekiel bread, toasted, with all-natural peanut butter and sliced bananas, scrambled eggs, and fruit salad on the side (strawberries, bananas and pink grapefruit from Brian's co-worker).