Cookingbites Recipe Challenge: Bananas and Plantain

Morning Glory

Morning Glory

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The current Recipe Challenge ingredient is bananas and plantain and our judge is @Herbie who won the last round. The deadline for entries is midday Sunday 25th November (GMT). All you need to do is post a recipe containing the chosen ingredient, tag it CookingBites recipe challenge and link it back to this thread. It must be a recipe you haven't previously posted on the forum. The winner of the Recipe Challenge chooses a new ingredient and becomes the judge for the next round.

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The full list of previous winners, recipes and chosen ingredients can be found here.

A Reminder of the"Rules" (revised May 2017)
You must post up the recipe here on CookingBites during the time frame of the competition (no screenshots of or links to recipes on other sites other than crediting is permitted).
  • The recipe must contain the ingredient specified in the challenge.
  • The recipe must have the 'recipe' prefix and the 'CookingBites recipe challenge' tag. It should also have the correct normal tags so the recipe below would have the 'chicken' and 'lemons' tags at a minimum.
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  • The recipe must be linked to in this thread to indicate participation in the current recipe challenge.
  • (New) Cooking the recipe is optional, though it is encouraged.
  • (New) Photographs are optional, but encouraged. They are not, by any means, mandatory.
  • To include everyone in any challenge, a suitable vegetarian/vegan/allergy free/intolerance free substitution will be permitted if the challenge ingredient is something a participant can not or does not eat, for whatever reason. What is permitted is up to the current challenge judge to decide on.
  • (New) In the event that an ingredient is unavailable regionally, substitutions should be agreed with the judge.
  • The judge's (or site owner's) decision is final and the new winner will select the next ingredient and the time frame...
  • And finally, as always, in the event of any dispute the site owner has the final say.
Last edited: Sep 18, 2018
 
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This will be a challenge for me as I'm not a fan of sweet things. But I am interested in trying to include bananas in savoury dishes. I used to be able to buy plantains when I lived in London and I remember cooking them in savoury and spicy Caribbean dishes which is much more my thing.

I'd be interested to know if other members can buy plantains where they live.
 
Saw plantains on the veg stall in the market on Saturday. I've never bought or eaten them, are they less sweet than a banana?
 
epicuric said:
Saw plantains on the veg stall in the market on Saturday. I've never bought or eaten them, are they less sweet than a banana?
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Plantains can be used when green or when the peel is black. We use the green to make tostones, which are savory and often served with a lime based mojo. Black (ripe) plantains are sweet and we use them for maduros. The tostones are shallow fried, smashed and fried again until golden brown. Maduros are shallow fried once until golden brown. I'll probably make Mofongo as one entry. It uses green plantains. Just have to figure out what to use as a pilon for mashing them. However you use plantains, they must be cooked.
 
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CraigC said:
Plantains can be used when green or when the peel is black. We use the green to make tostones, which are savory and often servered with a lime based mojo. Black (ripe) plantains are sweet and we use them for maduros. The tostones are shallow fried, smashed and fried again until golden brown. Maduros are shallow fried once until golden brown. I'll probably make Mofongo as one entry. It uses green plantains. Just have to figure out what to use as a pilon for mashing them. How ever you use plantains, they must be cooked.
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Thanks for the tips @CraigC. The ones I saw were green; I shall buy some next time I am at the market and have a go. Like @morning glory I am not a huge fan of sweet dishes, so a savoury route would work better for me.
 
I've ordered some 'ripen at home' green bananas from Ocado in the hope they may sub for plantain. I'll have a look in the Asian and Turkish supermarkets in Maidstone tomorrow to see if they have plantain
 
I normally think of bananas as a desert or snack item. I'll start doing some research to try and figure out how to incorporate them into a "dinner". Plantains are crazy easy (or affordable) to acquire around here. At least not that I know of. Bananas are plentiful.
 
detroitdad said:
I normally think of bananas as a desert or snack item. I'll start doing some research to try and figure out how to incorporate them into a "dinner". Plantains are crazy easy (or affordable) to acquire around here. At least not that I know of. Bananas are plentiful.
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You mean plantains are not easy to find?
 
This will be my first addition to the challenge. Chicken with a banana curry sauce. I pulled it from the Food and Wine site https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chicken-with-banana-curry-sauce

I will probably add a touch of heat to it. If I can find some good, thick cut pork chops. Then I might substitute that over the chicken (my son isn't a huge fan of chicken).


Ingredients
  • 2 large bananas, cut into pieces
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • Grated zest of 1 lime
  • 4 teaspoons lime juice
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup water, more if needed
  • 4 bone-in chicken breasts (about 2 1/4 pounds in all), skin removed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley (optional)

How to Make It
Step 1
Heat the oven to 450°. In a food processor or blender, puree the bananas, curry powder, coriander, dry mustard, butter, lime zest, lime juice, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of the water.

Step 2
Make a few deep cuts in each chicken breast and put the breasts in a roasting pan. Pour the curry sauce over the chicken, making sure the sauce gets into the cuts. Roast in the bottom third of the oven until the chicken is just done, about 20 minutes.

Step 3
Remove the roasting pan from the oven and remove the chicken breasts from the pan. There should be plenty of thick sauce in the bottom of the pan. Set the pan over moderate heat and whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup water. Continue to whisk until the sauce is heated through, adding more water if you want a thinner sauce. Serve the chicken breasts with the sauce over them. Sprinkle with parsley if you like.
 
@detroitdad - I've also been looking at chicken and banana curry recipes. A lot of hem contain coconut milk which I'm not too keen on - but this one doesn't. I'd suggest making your own curry powder blend if you want the best flavour...

Please note - normally we ask for recipes to be posted in a new thread but as you are simply making reference here, it fine. As you said, you may adapt it. So you can post it with adaptations as a new thread.
 
Are they very firm? The reason I ask is I have never seen the black color on plantains that haven't turned yellow already. Like in the reference picture @morning glory posted. You see the green ones, the yellow ones that are beginning to get black and the ones that have a lot of black which some are almost completely ripe.
 
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