I have a bit of a thing for South American food, I lived in Colombia for a few years as a child so have fond memories of buttery, charred maíz, crispy plantain patacones and cassava chips, giant avocados and creamy arequipe (dulce de leche). I also have some not so fond food memories...in Colombia, being vegetarian means that you just don't eat beef... lamb and chicken are perfectly fine for vegetarians to eat... therefore finding actual vegetarian food could be tricky, and my school lunches often consisted of a bowl of rice and a piece of cheese as the cooks just had no idea what to feed me...I grew accustomed to not being too fussy about it, began eating fish, and would pick the chicken out of bowls of ajiaco (chicken and potato soup).
Now that I am a grown up and do my own cooking, I still often cook things with a South American influence (and a Caribbean one, having in-laws of Jamaican descent) and living in Birmingham means that I am lucky enough to be able to find most ingredients quite easily, though I do struggle to find a variety of chillies; so I was very pleased when I was contacted by Encona to ask if I would like to try their new Peruvian Amarillo chilli sauce. I was sent a bottle of the Amarillo chilli sauce and one of smokey Mexican jalapeño sauce, both were delicious and very versatile. The Amarillo sauce has a slightly sweet, subtle chilli and garlic flavour and was really good with salmon and rice, the jalapeño sauce is warm, sweet and smokey and is fantastic with (veggie)burgers, and both of them make great dips. I have been a big fan of Encona's hot pepper sauce for years and will liberally slather it on just about anything, so I was extremely happy to have some new sauces to try, and I've gotten through about half a bottle of each already...
Of all the ways that I tried them, my favourite was as a dip with crispy plantain chips. They are really quick and easy to make, and are a delicious alternative to regular potato chips. You need to make sure that you use green plantains, not ripe ones, else they won't go crispy; and the thinner you slice them the crispier they will be. They only take about 15 minutes to prepare and cook, but are best served fresh, with a liberal sprinkling of salt, some dips and a couple of cold beers.
Plantain Chips
Ingredients
- 3 green plantains
- about 1.5 litres vegetable oil for frying
- salt
Instructions
- Peel the plantains by chopping off either end, then cut a slit through the skin along the length of the plantain. Use your fingers to prise the skin off, it will come away easily once you get your thumb under it.
- Place the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan, the oil should be about 5cm deep (or use a deep fat fryer), heat it to 200C/390F.
- Slice the plantains into thin rounds, about 2mm thick if you want them really crispy, or 4mm if you want them soft in the middle.
- Fry the plantain in batches for 2-4 minutes, until golden. Drop the slices into the oil individually or they will stick together and wont cook properly.
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen roll, sprinkle liberally with salt and serve immediately with your choice of dips.
(Disclaimer: I was sent a couple of bottles of chilli sauce to review but I was not paid to write this post, all opinions are my own)
I'm sharing this with Fabulous Foodie Fridays, Fiesta Friday, Foodie Fridiy, Foodie Friends Friday, Friday Favourites and Friday Features.
Sarah
These look really delicious. I have never cooked plantain, but will try this the next time I see it! Thanks for the inspiration #TastyTuesdays
hannahhossack
Thanks Sarah, I love plantain, though am less keen on it when it is ripe, I prefer to use the really green ones.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
These look fantastic. And as you say with a few dips and a cold beer...perfecto! I also have never used plantain before, this sounds a lovely introduction to it.
Angela x
hannahhossack
Thanks Angela 🙂 x
patisseriemakesperfect
I've never eaten plantain, but I've always wondered what to do with it. They look delicious and I love the Encona sauces.
Great pictures too. x
hannahhossack
They are really delicious, though do need quite a lot of salt, and I'm not so keen on ripe ones. x
Sneaky Veg
These plantain chips sound really good - must try making these for my kids soon, minus the chilli sauce perhaps! I haven't been to Colombia but have travelled to some other places in south America and know just what you mean about it being a tricky place to be vegetarian. I got served chicken or ham many times - porque no es carne, no? #cookblogshare
hannahhossack
Ha ha! They are great just with salt as well 🙂 Yep South America can be very awkward... "Oh you're vegetarian? No problem! I'll do lamb..."
Kirsty hijackedbytwins
These look so good! I remember having plantain a lot in Ghana. Thank you for linking up with #cookblogshare x
bakeplaysmile
Yum!!! They look so good. Are plantains the same thing as sweet potato? I havent heard of them before? Thanks for linking up with our Fabulous Foodie Fridays party - have a great weekend!! xxx
hannahhossack
They are a kind of banana, though bigger and more savoury, especially if you use them green (which I prefer). You can do quite a lot with them though I think they taste best fried. Have a great weekend! x
Vicki @ Boiled Eggs & Soldiers
Wow, they look great. I've eaten plantains but never cooked with them before myself.
hannahhossack
Thank you 🙂
Friday Features Linky Party
I have never tasted a plantain, my husband has enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing on Friday Features, hope you have a great weekend!
Karren
hannahhossack
Thanks Karren, have a great weekend!
Honest Mum
This has taken me right back to uni days where I used to scoff a lot of plantain crisps. I've never made myself though but will now! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays x
hannahhossack
Ha ha! I really like vegetable crisps, so I never buy them as I can very easily get through a large bag by myself... x
wheelie38
I've never tried Plantain but have always fancied it #TastyTuesdays
hannahhossack
It is delicious, you should give it a go 🙂
Lizzie {Strayed Table}
We were just given a whole hand of plantains last week, I so needed your recipe then. These look great and I will be trying these out very soon.
hannahhossack
Wonderful! What did you do with them?