Traditional Indigenous Recipes

Plantains

Sliced plantain sautéed in vegetable oil. A banana is on the left; plantain on the right.

Plantains are in the same family as bananas, but you don’t eat them raw—they need to be cooked. Plantains are longer with thicker skins and they appear to be bruised. Plantains provide vitamin C and potassium and are about 125 calories per cup (provided you don’t use olive oil to prepare them). You can buy plantains at many grocery stores.

Simple recipe:

2-3 ripe plantains (they get darker as they ripen)

Slice into stripes or whatever design you like

Sautee in vegetable or olive oil for about 8-10 minutes. We like them crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle.

These taste great plain, but you can add salt, pepper, chili power, nuts, etc.

Plantains are also good mashed and served with oatmeal, on graham crackers, or yoghurt.