Plantain Apple Salad

Introduction

This is a twist on a recipe from one of our favourite cookbook authors, Yotam Ottolenghi. The tart and sweet apple salad is a refreshing contrast to the spicy caramel of the fried plantain. It’s a unique and fun side that goes especially well with our Thai BBQ Chicken. If you’ve never cooked with plantain before they are those giant banana-looking things you see riding solo in the grocery store. They’re firmer and less sweet than their bunched cousins. For this recipe choose ripe plantains: yellow skin with dark spots and a little soft in the hand. For the apple, Granny Smith works best but feel free to sub in whatever you have in the crisper.

Substitutions: You can use bananas instead of plantain. Because they have more sugar they are more likely to burn, so lower the heat and cooking time and keep a close eye on them.

Ingredients

For plantains:

2 plantains, peeled

1/4 cup avocado oil

2 teaspoons Xylitol

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (1/4 teaspoon ground ginger powder)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon butter

For apple salad

2 apples, cut into sticks

1/4 cup dried coconut, chunks or flaked 

2 limes: the zest of one lime, the juice of 1.5 limes, and the rest quartered for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Peel plantains and cut in half lengthwise and crosswise.

  3. In a large bowl combine avocado oil, xylitol, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin and cayenne. Mix well and then spread all over the plantains. 

  4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add butter. Once the butter melts, add the plantains, reserving the left over spice mix. Fry the plantains for two minutes per side, until they are browned and getting crispy. (If the pan is not large enough to fit all the plantains, cook them in batches.)

  5. Move fried plantains to lined baking sheet. Slide the sheet into the oven and bake for 5 minutes. It should be golden brown and soft to the touch. If it’s not, bake for another 5 minutes.

  6. To the leftover spice mix, add the coconut, lime juice and zest, and mix well. Toss in the match stick apple slices.

  7. Serve the apple salad beside the plantain with a lime wedge on the side and any extra dressing drizzled on top.  A garnish of mint will take it to the next level.