Plantains a.k.a. plantanos, where have you been all my life??? Plantains are used very commonly in Cuban and South American cuisine. I always used to pass these by in the grocery store because they look like overlarge freaky overripe bananas. This time I didn’t pass them by, in fact, I asked a nice woman who was feeling the yellow & black plantains how to go about picking good ones. She says to look for ones that are firm and with no soft spots. Once she showed me, I picked out 3 medium sized ones, took them home, peeled and sliced, and pan fried them. ZOMG plantains are delicious!! They taste like a less sweet banana crossed with a sweet potato. They were divine with a side of black beans mixed with homemade blender salsa. So simple yet so delicious. THANK YOU nice woman at the grocery store!

Moral of the story… don’t knock it until you try it!

INGREDIENTS:

3 plantains/plantanos
1 – 3 teaspoons oil

1.5 cups cooked black beans
1/2 cup homemade blender salsa

DIRECTIONS:

Peel the plantains by cutting off the end and peeling as you would a banana, discard skins. Chop plantains into oblong slices. Heat 1 – 3 teaspoons of oil in a pan to medium-high heat. Wait until oil spreads easily and then drop plantain pieces into pan. Fry them until brown and then flip, about 1 – 2 minutes per side.

Mix 1 part salsa to 3 parts cooked black beans in a bowl. Heat in microwave until warm and stir.