ottawa foodies

Hey folks!

I had a few questions about that lesser known product here. Do any of you buy plantains regularly? if so, how do you choose the plantain at the market? (considering they seem always way greener than what bananas would be). Also, harder or a bit of give?

Finally, how do you like to cook them? I saw a woman on tv cut them in thin slices and fry them up in peanut oil, but was wondering about other ways to took them, and of course, i've always had good suggestions and comments on here.
:)

EDIT: oops, made a spelling mistake in the title of the thread :|

bump bump bump = any suggestions for plantains? I'm going to fry some up to eat with pulled pork and guac this weekend.

Sourdough - How ripe are they/will they be? If unripe - tostones, google it. Otherwise, if they are approaching ripeness or are overripe, you might want to make empanada de platano for dessert, or just slice lengthwise and fry in oil to serve with sour cream & black beans.

They are turning yellow, but are not black. So from what I've read they are medium ripe? I found a recipe for yellow plantains called pionono - cheese and plantain fritters - thought about trying that out:
latinfood.about.com

My favourite dish with plaintains (green ones) is a Dominican and Puerto Rican dish called "mofongo". There are many recipes and interpretations, mine is as follows. Soak 1" slices of green plaintain in water. Dry well and fry until golden in veg oil. Render pork skin (cubed bacon works as well) in a pan, and roast whole cloves of garlic in the fat till they are mashable. Dish is supposed to be very garlicky. Mash everything together in a bowl with salt and pepper (add a bit of water if necc. to make it almost mashed potato-like) and put mixture in a casserole that is a little too small so it is mounded up in a bit of a hill and then bake until the top is crispy.

It's often served with chicken or beef broth to moisten the mashed plaintains when they are served on your plate. You can also add cheese to the mixture before baking.

As my spouse is from the Dominican Republic, I've become accustomed to preparing plantains for him on a semi-regular basis. Mostly mofongo, mangu and tostones, which are the most common ways of preparing the starchy green plantains...at least in La Republica.

The secret to the best tostones is to make sure that when they are almost done frying, take them out of the oil, smash them flat, and throw them back in for another minute or two to finish. This is definitely a no skip step.

Mangu and mofongo both involve mashed boiled plantains. Mangu is more of a breakfast starch, mashed with sauteed onions and butter. Mofongo is basically the same, but add roasted garlic and serve at dinner. Mash in some chicharrones (crackling?) and you have yourself a meal.

There's a site called Aunt Clara's that has a bunch of dominican recipes. It's a great reference. Here's the link: www.dominicancooking.com

Buen provecho!

i get them regularly
either at GraceOttawa or Lim Bangkok
green ones, I use in a Jamaican soup with chocho (chayote), green bananas, yam (malanga), taro (dasheen), potatoes, onions, thyme, scotchies and cowfoot (literaly)

ripe (almost all black), peel slice, salt, and brown in sautee pan

yellow but not quite black enough, peel and chunk, deep-fry til golden, remove from fryer, flatten, and fry again, salt, eat

thanks for all the info. I ended up making tostones, as it seemed the easiest and I was time challenged. Pictures in the all things bbq thread later. I loved them, 1.5/4 kids like them, (not sure on the 1 year old), wife was so so. They are certainly easy enough to make.