Elizabeth:
I lived in the West Indies for 10 years where plantain is a regular
on most family tables. If the plantain is unripe, you can use it in
a soup or stew. Unripened, they can be difficult to peel, so it may
be easiest to cut it in chunks then slash the side with a sharp knife
and peel the skin off. There are two preferred ways of cooking the
ripened plantain. I've never had any luck with getting decent
plantain in my area - most of them are just so green that I can't get
them to ripen properly and they don't develop the delicious sweetness
that they should. If you can get them to ripen properly, I think
you'll really enjoy them. They are generally eaten as a side dish to
a nice curried rice, or other spicy, rice-based dish (pilaf, for
example). The simplest way is to place the whole ripened plantain in
boiling water and boil til tender (about 15 minutes) then peel and
slice or cut in chunks. The other way is to peel the ripened (must
be ripened and sweet!) and cut into full length strips about 1/4 to
1/3 inch thick; place on a flat surface and prick all over with a
fork. Traditionally, the strips would then be fried in a bit of oil,
but I'm certain that they would taste even better just broiled (I
think I would spray a bit of Pam first, though) or done on the BBQ.
They don't need much cooking at all, just til they are a bit browned
which brings out a nice sweet brown sugary taste. They are a real
taste treat! The riper they are, the better (and sweeter) they will
taste. Good luck, Pat
pat.hubley@xxxxxx
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