Craving a banana and a potato? There’s no need to decide
This student-friendly take on Puerto Rican tostones, or twice-fried plantain chips, is an excellent appetizer, side dish, or snack you eat a whole bowl of while studying.
In this recipe, plantains are peeled, chopped into chunks, pan fried in coconut oil, squished with a plate, and then fried a second time. It might seem like more work than just opening a bag of potato chips, but plantains offer nutrients that are similar to what you get from a banana.
That isn’t to say that this recipe is super healthy, because the plantains are still fried—twice—but it is good to switch up your snacking habits once in awhile in order to introduce something fresh into your diet.
Plantains can be found at most grocery stores; they look like over-sized bananas with really thick skins, which can be green (unripe), yellow (getting ripe), or black (very ripe).These thick skins make plantains difficult to peel, and I think this is one of the reasons people might be put off from cooking them. Here are two ways that I peel plantains that will get the job done quickly.
One easy way to peel a plantain is—you guessed it—with a peeler (again think of it like a potato rather than a banana). I prefer a Y-shaped peeler for plantains; you simply keep peeling until all of the thick skin is removed.
Another easy way, especially if you don’t have a good peeler, is to chop the plantain into chunks and then simply cut the skin off. Make sure you’ve washed them well if you’re going to follow either of these methods.
Even though plantains look like bananas, they don’t really taste like bananas; the very ripe ones get the closest to resembling a banana because they get sweeter when they ripen. Still, plantains taste much more like potatoes and can be cooked like potatoes because they are very starchy.
Similar to most starchy things, the flavours you add are really up to you. So once you’ve made your basic tostones, experiment with spices and figure out what you like in the way of sweet, savoury, or spicy plantains.
Ingredients
1 to 2 plantains, peeled and cut into chunks (2 to 3 cm thick)
Coconut oil (for cooking) or vegetable oil, as needed
Salt, to taste (optional)
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
Paprika, to taste (optional)
Directions
1. In a frying pan, heat two tablespoons of coconut oil over medium heat.
2. Once your plantains are peeled and cut into chunks, test the oil by placing one chunk (cut side down) in the oil using tongs. If the oil bubbles, then it is hot enough and you can add as many pieces as you can fit in your frying pan.
3. Cook for five minutes. Flip and cook for five more minutes.
4. Remove plantain chunks from frying pan and place into a bowl. Place one piece at a time on a cutting board and then press flat using the bottom of a firm plate. If you find the plantain is sticking, then put some coconut oil on the bottom of the plate and remove the plantain with a flipper or spatula instead of your fingers.
5. Once all of the plantains are smashed flat, add some more oil as needed to the frying pan and return the flattened plantains to the pan; now cooking them for two minutes per side.
6. Place finished plantains on some paper towels to drain and season them with a few pinches of the spices of your choice while they are still hot (this will make the spices stick better). For this recipe I used a few pinches of Himalayan pink rock salt, cayenne pepper, and paprika. For a sweet version you can use ripe plantains and then season with sugar and cinnamon.
Enjoy as is or try with your favourite dip!
Photo by Mirali Almaula/The Ontarion.