Tastefully Tueday...

Last Fall I had a chance to try Plantains for the first time at a local Caribbean Restaurant and it was love at first bite.  I was intrigued and wanted to be able to make them at home, but with no experience I was worried it would be hard, but as it turns out, the hardest thing is to find the Plantains here in Norther Minnesota.  As luck would have it my local Co-Op has them so when we stopped in yesterday I grabbed on to have with our pork chops tonight.

Puerto Rican Tostones (Fried Plantains)

5 tablespoons oil for frying
1 plantains, peeled and broken into chunks
3 cups cold water
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Place the plantains in the oil and fry on both sides; approximately 3 1/2 minutes per side.  Remove the plantains from the pan and flatten the plantains by placing a plate over the fried plantains and pressing down. Dip the plantains in water, then return them to the hot oil and fry 1 minute on each side. Salt to taste and serve immediately.
 
***The riper the plantain the quicker it will cook, so a yellow or brown speckled one will cook a lot faster than a green one.  Also the riper the plantain the sweeter it will be.
 

Today's no cook option is from Buca Di Beppo, just bring in your printed coupon for $10.00 off any order of $20.00 or more.  This coupon is good until September 4, 2011 and excludes group menus, Alcohol, Tax and Gratuities and purchase of gift cards.
 
I hope you are all having a great week so far!
 
C.Q.