AI-generated image
Maduro con queso
Baked plantain with cheese
Maduro con queso: baked very ripe plantain split open and stuffed with melting white cheese
Cali cooks treat a black-skinned plantain as a treat rather than a fruit past its best, and maduro con queso shows why. The plantain bakes in its own skin until the flesh turns sticky and caramel-sweet, then it is split lengthways and packed with soft white cheese that melts into the hot fruit. In the Valle del Cauca it turns up at home lunches beside rice, beans and a sudado, and at weekend corrientazo counters as the sweet note on a savoury plate. The cheese of choice is a mild, stretchy quesillo or queso campesino, both normally set with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian mozzarella-style cheese if that matters to you. Where it goes wrong is the plantain: a yellow one with a few spots stays starchy and dry, so wait until the skin is almost completely black and the fruit gives when pressed. Chef's tip: bake the plantains on a tray lined with baking paper, because the sugars leak out of the skins and burn onto bare metal.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 4 very ripe plantainsskins almost fully black, fruit soft when pressed
- ⅔ oz buttersoftened
- 5 ½ oz mozzarella-style white cheese or quesillosliced into 8 thick strips; traditionally made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)for dusting
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Step 2: Rinse and dry 4 very ripe plantains, trim off the hard tips and cut a shallow slit along the inner curve of each one, through the skin only. Lay them slit side up on the tray.
Step 3: Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the skins are black and puffed and juice bubbles out of the slit. A knife should slide into the flesh with no resistance.
28 minStep 5: Tuck two strips of 5 ½ oz mozzarella-style white cheese or quesillo into each pocket, pressing them into the hot flesh.
Step 6: Return to the oven for 5–7 minutes, until the cheese has melted and is starting to bubble at the edges.
6 minStep 7: Dust lightly with ¼ tsp ground cinnamon if you like and serve straight away in the skins, while the cheese is still stretchy.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does maduro con queso take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 35 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 vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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
Arroz de lisaRice with salted mullet
Carnival in Barranquilla isn't complete without a plate of arroz de lisa, and the market at Barranquillita and the old neighbourhoods around it sell it every day: salted, dried mullet from the Ciénaga Grande, soaked, shredded and cooked into rice with sweet peppers, onion, tomato and achiote. The rice comes out loose, orange and deeply savoury, with flakes of fish all the way through. It is served with bollo de yuca, fried ripe plantain or a simple tomato and onion salad. Plan ahead: the salted fish needs a day's soaking in the fridge. Skipping enough soaking is the usual downfall; the rice ends up far too salty, so taste a flake of the fish before you cook and keep soaking if it is still sharp. Chef's tip: if you can't find salted mullet, salt cod from any fishmonger works well, and use the poaching water for the rice only after tasting it.
TacachoMashed roasted green plantain balls
Tacacho is the breakfast of the Peruvian Amazon, from Tarapoto to Iquitos: green plantains roasted over coals, mashed with fat and salt and shaped into balls. There it comes with cecina (smoked pork) and is mashed with lard and crackling; this vegan tacacho uses good oil and a pinch of smoked paprika for the same savoury, smoky depth. The balls are dense, chewy and starchy, crisp at the edges where the plantain charred, and they are eaten hot with a fiery chilli sauce or alongside stews. Use plantains that are fully green and firm. Chef's tip: mash the plantains while they are still very hot; as green plantain cools its starch sets and it won't bind into a smooth ball.
Peruvian
Fagioli all'uccellettoCannellini beans with sage and tomato
Florentines are nicknamed mangiafagioli, bean-eaters, and this is the dish that earned it: creamy cannellini simmered in olive oil with whole sage leaves, crushed garlic and a little tomato. The name, 'little-bird style', comes from the sage and garlic once used to cook small game birds, though there has never been a bird in the pot. In trattorie it sits next to grilled meat as a side; served with crusty bread and greens it makes a full vegetarian supper. The beans should be soft and glossy in a thick, rust-coloured sauce. Chef's tip: let the sage and garlic sizzle gently in the oil before the tomato goes in; that scented oil is the whole flavour of the dish.
Italian