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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2016 7:19:08 GMT
Plantain is deep fried. Frankly, I don't know why anybody would eat it if it has not always been part of their diet growing up. For me, it is the same as eating ignames instead of potatoes. Such items are not at all appealing when you have been raised with different fruits and vegetables. As you know, I am all for exotic foods, but only when they are good.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2016 11:00:20 GMT
I wouldn't eat it every day, but it is suited for the dish I made. I've enjoyed it in dishes made by Caribbean friends.
This dish wasn't deep fried; of course it was shallow-fried at the beginning, like many stews.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 8, 2016 15:03:16 GMT
Plantain isn't only fried. If you google "green plantain in stews" you will find recipes that direct you to add the uncooked plantain directly into the dish as it's cooking.
I can't get very excited about plantain. Occasionally a ripe one sauteed down with onion & garlic is nice with something like pork.
They are good sources of potassium & magnesium, also vitamins A, C, & B-6.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2016 15:26:56 GMT
I don't find it exciting at all, but some stews need "bland" ... or "stodge" ingredients as well as more exciting ones. Yes, I had googled precisely that "green plantain stews". I'd bought them, and wasn't going to deep-fry two of them. Trying to avoid that kind of thing, especially before the year's end suppers...
Personally, I find the ripe ones too sweet. And yes, I knew that they contain some valuable vitamins and minerals, and a good kind of fibre. I'm trying to eat a bit of such foods.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2016 17:45:45 GMT
Well, they are bananas, after all, which are also a source of valuable vitamins and minerals.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 8, 2016 18:07:15 GMT
That is true - especially magnesium. Sometimes I'll eat a banana if I'm hungry and it is that or junk food, but I find them too sweet and don't really like their aroma (which is much stronger than that of green plantain).
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Post by lagatta on Dec 9, 2016 1:51:26 GMT
Finally I made up the stew. I cooked some ground turkey - it was not finely minced, and I left it in little chunks About 550g. Added the vegetables, and eventually some fond de volaille - the highly concentrated end of some stock I'd made. Some Aleppo pepper and cumin. The texture of the green plantain is excellent, firmer and chewier than potatoes. Not much flavour on its own (knew that) but it picked up those of the stock and spices. My ony error was to add the spinach in too early, at the end of the cooking of the plantain. So its a bit dark. I'll add some parsley or coriander; it ill be fine.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2016 7:11:44 GMT
I can't imagine spinach in a stew since it disintegrates almost immediately.
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Post by lagatta on Dec 9, 2016 15:02:48 GMT
It goes in at the last minute. Actually chard would be better though.
By the way, I'm looking forward to your seasonal photo report from Strasbourg, and I'm sure I'm not the only one!
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