Stretching Fried Plantains

[zooxanthellae]

I'm supposed to make fried plantains for a group in a couple of days; I don't think I'll have enough ripe by then (I'm trying to make the sweet kind - maduros, I think).

So, how do I make sure there's enough food to go around? The only thing I can think of pairing it with is some sort of rice/bean dish. I've had that with sweet fried plantains and really enjoyed it. But does anyone else have some thoughts, here?

[Duppie]

If you're really in a bind, you can pick up some Goya maduros in the freezer section, I always keep some on hand when platanos is scarce and they are also a good accompaniment for curried dishes.

[zooxanthellae]

Are the Goya maduros already fried up? I'd be OK with using them if they're just chopped and frozen raw and ripe, but if they're fried, that feels a little dirty.

Also, would those be sold in non-ethnic grocers? I don't feel like I've ever seen them.

[Duppie]

Unfortunately for your needs, they are already cut and cooked before they are frozen.Goya products are now common in most large groceries and should not be hard to find if you look for them. I use quite a bit of their products like their canned beans,empanada wrappers,mojo marinade and sazon seasonings.Not sure what you mean about feeling dirty however.

[zooxanthellae]

I meant that it would feel like "cheating" to do so, which is a little irritatingly high-horsed of me, but, hey.

On that note, I just thought of something that may or may not be doable, but - you know tuile? Apparently it's possible to do savory versions using purees, and I was wondering if anyone knows about the viability of a black bean tuile. I figure I'd have to cut the sugar and perhaps up the flour. But then I'd have something to pair with plantains with and it would be less messy.

[Duppie]

Perhaps a black bean salad instead,incorporating corn,cilantro,lime juice,peppers, queso blanco,avocados,tomatoes or tomatillos. IMO it would balance the sweetness of the maduros while still keeping to a theme.

[greenish]

I'm probably stating the obvious, but you're ripening the plantains in a brown bag, right? If not, bag 'em up. They'll ripen more quickly.

You could make rellenos, Stuff the fritters with a ground beef mix.

And if they don't ripen in time, you can always make mofongo. There's a decent recipe on epicurious.

[zooxanthellae]

They are indeed in a paper bag (at least the spotted and yellow ones are - a couple of them are almost totally black and have been put in the fridge).

[greygarious]

Maybe you could Frankenstein more "ripe" plantains by whirring unripe ones in the food processor along with ripe bananas. Then make them into fritters by mixing with flour and egg.

[zooxanthellae]

But then I'd be messing with that nice, mild sweetness of a ripe fried plantain! I was thinking more along the lines of an accompaniment than actually stretching the plantains themselves. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words.

[scarmoza]

Along with frijoles and crema, queso frito is also commonly served with platanos throughout Latin American.