AI-generated image
Fried ripe plantain
Sweet, caramelised slices of very ripe plantain, fried in a little oil
Fried ripe plantain is on almost every Jamaican plate, from breakfast with ackee and callaloo to Sunday dinner beside rice and peas. When plantains are fully ripe their starch turns to sugar, so the slices fry up soft and custardy inside with dark, sticky, caramelised edges, sweet with a little salt. Chef's tip: wait until the skin is mostly black. A yellow plantain fries up firm and starchy; a black one gives that melting, toffee-sweet result, and medium heat lets the sugars caramelise without burning.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe plantainsskins mostly black
- 4 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 pinch salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Cut the ends off 2 very ripe plantains, slit the skin along its length and peel it away. Cut the plantains on a long diagonal into slices about 1 cm thick.
Step 2: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat until it shimmers. Add the slices in one layer, leaving space between them.
Step 3: Fry for 2–3 minutes until the undersides are deep golden to dark caramel brown, then turn and fry the other side for 2 minutes. Keep the heat at medium: the sugar burns quickly at high heat.
5 minStep 4: Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with 1 pinch salt and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fried ripe plantain take?
- About 15 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
TashmijabiMashed potatoes with stretchy cheese
Potatoes grow well in the cold valleys of Svaneti, and tashmijabi is how families around Mestia turn them into a feast dish: they are mashed hot, then beaten with handfuls of young sulguni until the purée becomes glossy and stretches from the spoon in long strands. It is served with grilled meat, kubdari or simply with pickles and Svan salt. A common mistake is letting the potatoes cool before adding the cheese; they must be piping hot for the cheese to melt and stretch. Chef's tip: keep the pan on a low heat while you beat, and use a firm wooden spoon. Most sulguni uses animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one or use mozzarella.
Georgian
Jerk tofu and vegetables
Jerk was born in the hills of Portland parish, where Maroon communities slow-cooked spiced meat over pimento wood, and Boston Bay is still its home today. The heart of it is the wet marinade: spring onion, thyme, scotch bonnet and plenty of pimento (allspice), blitzed into a coarse green-brown paste. Here it clings to slabs of pressed tofu and chunky vegetables that are charred until sticky at the edges, smoky, hot and fragrant. Serve with rice and peas, fried ripe plantain or festival and a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: toast whole pimento berries in a dry pan and grind them yourself; ready-ground allspice tastes flat, and the warm clove-pepper perfume of fresh pimento is what makes jerk taste like jerk.
Jamaican callalooSteamed callaloo greens
In Jamaica, callaloo means the leaves and tender stems of a type of amaranth, sold in big bundles in every market from Coronation Market in Kingston to Santa Cruz in St Elizabeth. It's steamed down with onion, tomato, garlic and thyme into soft, savoury greens with a mild mineral sweetness, and eaten at breakfast with fried dumplings, boiled green bananas or hard dough bread, or as a side at dinner. Spinach or Swiss chard can stand in if you can't find callaloo. Chef's tip: peel the fibrous skin from the thicker stems with a small knife and slice the stems and leaves finely across, about 1 cm wide. That's how Jamaican cooks get callaloo that's tender all the way through rather than stringy.