Plantain

The story behind this recipe starts with the love that one of my aunts wanted to express to me. I consider her like a mother since she has been always there taking care of me. Also she calls me her son.

She wasn’t used to cook but sometimes when there was no one to finish preparing lunch, she prepared fried plantains and even when it might be something simple to do, for me she was the best plantain fryer chef ever existed on earth. Hers were the most juicy, sugary, soft and crunchy fried plantains i’ve ever tried.

Each time i prepare plantains i remember her even if when i do it is not the same. But i can assure you she tought me well.

Plantains in south america are a basis in each dish. To chose the right ones you must look for those that have these dark spots and intense yellow skin, but hey ! if you live in Europe (if you live in a colder weather) like i do, this is not the right time to cook them.

It took me a moment to understand when it was the right moment to prepare these sweet fruits. Actually thanks to my French husband, that reminded when i told him the last time « i think these ones are not ripe enough yet, probably i’ll take them a bit more dark » and he brought home the most dark ones, and i got scared because this in my country means that they are ready to start fermentation and put them in the trash. He was so amazed by the flavor he discovered while trying « allocos » (that’s how in africa they call the fried  plantains, in venezuela we call them « tajadas » or « tajadas de platano »), that we prepared them for a while until finding the right ones, the really dark ones on the outside he brought home.

Here in France the plantains most of the times come from Africa, but you can find also from south american countries. Which is environmentally speaking not much interesting because the trip these guys must have done to get there in your hands is just huge. Always try to take in mind where you live and what’s near to your location at the moment you are buying them.

After my obssesion of doing plantains in France i came to my senses and realized my environmental impact while doing this, so now i do it less but still do it because of the memories of those nurturing moments i lived while eating this dish.