Cooking Plantains

Plantain Tree

We have some beautiful plantain (prounced plann-tin) trees in our yard and Bill and I have been wanting to try some recipes with them.  Plantains are a Belizean staple and are not to be confused with bananas.  You pick them depending on what you want to make and how you want to cook them.  You can pick when they are green, yellow or black.  We picked green ones.

Green Plantain

A plantain is a fruit but is considered a vegetable.  The green ones we picked and tried were actually kind of bland and tasted a lot like a potato.  The riper they are when you pick them, the sweeter they are.

Peeling a green plantain is not so easy and they say to peel them under cold running water or your hands will become stained and black looking. 

The plantains are just beautiful the way they grow on the tree.

I decided to make Tostones or plantain chips seasoned with salt and pepper.  We dipped them in some ketchup and Marie Sharp's Hot Sauce and they were really good along with our hamburgers I made last night.  I think the next time we will pick them when they are yellow and try out this cheesy plantain recipe of Piononos or cheese filled plantain fritters.

I cooked them for 3 minutes in coconut oil.

After cooking for 3 minutes.

Then I mashed them flat with a wooden spoon.

Cooked them again until golden brown.  I did fry them this time but I think I will try to bake them next time I make them.

“Simple and Cheap”

Rice and beans, simple and cheap usually go together when you think of Belizean food. The famous Belize Rice and Beans is cooked with red beans, black pepper and coconut milk. You can find this most famous of all Belizean cuisines on most restaurants’ daily menu.

I thought ‘beans and rice’ and rice and beans’ were the same thing. But to my surprise the Belizeans have gotten me straight on my beans and rice or do you prefer rice and beans? Guess what, there is a difference in Belize. When you refer to rice and beans, the dish is cooked together in coconut milk. When you refer to beans and rice, this dish is cooked separately and served separately. Now I know everyone is glad we have that straight. So here is a recipe I found for “Belizean rice and beans”.

Belizean Rice and Beans

1 pound of red beans

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon thyme

2 pounds rice

1 medium onion (chopped)

6-8 cups of water

Optional – 1 small pig's tail

Directions

Wash and soak beans for 4 hours in 6-8 cups of water. Cook beans until tender with garlic, onion and pig’s tail. Season beans with black pepper, thyme and salt. Add coconut milk. Cook until boiling.  Add rice, stir and cover and cook on low heat until the water is absorbed and rice is done.