If you have ever wondered how to cook plantain then you are in the right place, I’m going to show you how to bake it, boil it, grill it and fry it. Plantain is tasty cooked any way but it all depends on the ripeness of the plantain in what cooking method you will choose. Just don’t get them confused with bananas.
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLANTAINS & BANANAS
Plantains may look like giant bananas but they don’t taste like bananas. Bananas are sweet and you eat them like a raw fruit whereas plantains are better of eaten as a cooked vegetable because they are full of so much starch.
HOW TO CHOOSE PLANTAIN
You can buy plantains green, yellow, yellow with brown marks and all brown/black. The darker the plantain the sweeter it is. The greener the plantain the more savoury it is. Depending on how you want to your plantain will determine which plantains you buy. I like to buy mine green and leave them to ripen at home so when they are the perfect colour I know they will complement my dish beautifully.
In London you can easily find 3 plantains for £1. I sometimes buy one green plantain to leave to ripen over the course of the week and a yellowy/brown one to use straight away and a yellow one that I will leave to ripen for a few days.
I don’t really like to buy the all brown/black plantains because you can’t really tell how ripe they are. Most of the time they are over ripe with a fermented smell and taste which I don’t particularly like but if you like them that way then get the brown/black ones.
HOW TO PEEL PLANTAIN
Before we get into how to bake, boil, grill and fry our plantain lets me tell you how to prepare your plantains. The skin of a plantain is really thick and tough and trust me don’t try to peel it like you would a banana because it will take too long. I like to cut the top and bottom off, score through the skin and the peel each section off. Watch my video below to see how I prepare my plantain and also how to bake, boil, grill and fry them.
How to cook plantain 4 ways – boil, bake, grill and fry
PLANTAIN BOIL BAKE GRILL FRY
There are many ways to cook plantain but I’m going to show you the 4 easiest ways how to boil it, bake it, grill it and fry it. What is your favourite way to eat plantain?
BOIL PLANTAIN
To boil your plantain bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and whilst it’s boiling wrap your plantain in foil. When your water is bubbling add your foil wrapped plantain and leave it to boil on a medium heat for 30 minutes or when you unwrap the foil you can pierce it with a fork smoothly.
When I boil plantain I like to use a green skinned one because I like to serve it with some Ghanaian jollof rice and stew and I don’t want my plantain tasting too sweet.
BAKE PLANTAIN
To bake plantain it’s just like boiling it. You cover your plantain in foil, place it on a baking tray and put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C or when you unwrap the foil you can cut into it easily.
GRILL PLANTAIN
I love grilling plantain because it is so delicious to snack on. Peel your plantain then cut them into 1/2cm coins. Place them on a baking tray, drizzle over some oil if you want (they don’t need it) and grill your plantains until nice and golden on both sides.
I like to sprinkle over some chilli flakes over half of my plantains for a healthy version of Ghanaian kelewele and on the other half I like to add a little cinnamon for a Greek twist. This combo works so well together, the spicy and sweet kind of like a bag of sweet and salty popcorn (“,)
FRY PLANTAIN
Fried plantain is my favourite! I’m not talking deep fried, dripping in oil though. What I’m talking about is a little dollop of coconut oil lightly covering your pan and then slices of plantain added so they caramelise beautifully.
HOW TO SERVE FRIED PLANTAIN
I love to serve my caramelised healthy fried plantain over some thick Greek yogurt, a sprinkling of frozen blueberries, a drizzle of honey and a dusting of cinnamon. This is great for breakfast a snack or dessert, trust me! The warm sweet coconutty plantain with crisp caramelisation work well with the sour think creamy yogurt, the frozen blueberries add bursts of cold fruitiness, the honey adds sweetness and the cinnamon adds a little kick spiciness (“,)
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Ingredients
Boiled Plantain
- 1 plantain
Equipment
- 1 sheet foil
- 1 large pot
Baked Plantain
- 1 plantain
Equipment
Grilled Plantain
- 1 plantain
- 1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
- 1 tbsp chili flakes (for Ghanaian kelewele)
- 1 tbsp cinnamon (for a Greek twist)
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 baking tray
Fried Plantain
- 1 plantain
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Equipment
Instructions
Boiled Plantain
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and whilst it's boiling wrap your plantain in foil. When your water is bubbling add your foil wrapped plantain and leave it to boil on a medium heat for 30 minutes or when you unwrap the foil you can pierce it with a fork smoothly.
Baked Plantain
- Cover your plantain in foil, place it on a baking tray and put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C or when you unwrap the foil you can cut into it easily.
Grilled Plantain
- Peel your plantain then cut them into 1/2cm coins
- Place them on a baking tray, drizzle over some oil if you want (they don't need it) and grill your plantains until nice and golden on both sides.If you want to sprinkle some chilli flakes over half of your plantains and cinnamon on the other half before grilling
Fried Plantain
- Peel and cut your plantains into slices
- Heat your coconut oil in your pan then add your plantains and cook until both sides are golden
VIDEO
Nutrition
WHAT TO EAT WITH PLANTAIN
You can eat plantain with whatever tickles your fancy but I like to eat mine with jollof rice, stew like kontomire, bamies and fasalokia me patates. Puna yam is also great with plantains check my how to peel, cut and boil puna yam here or watch the video below
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