Carribean Black Beans with Sauteed Plantains

[aargnzarf]

Last week I planned 7 meals from my new cookbook A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. I'm not vegetarian, and everything I have cooked from it has been good eats for omnis and vegs alike. The recipes in the book have been simple, organized by season so you can aquire produce that is fresh and full of flavor, lightly but well spiced, and have left me with a sense of well-being after I finished my dinner.

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes from the week with my good friend Jared, 510dat, and he suggested I post the recipe here. Share and Enjoy!

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Cooking notes: The ripest plaintains I found at Whole Foods were green. I put the plaintains in a bag with a few apples, to speed up ripening, and saved the recipe for the end of the week. When I was ready to cook the plantains were yellow heading towards brown. They worked just fine.
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Ladled into bowls, black beans spiked with garlic, chile, and citrus juices are topped with sauteed plantains. Use only the ripest, black or mostly black plantains. Rice (either on the side or served under the beans and plantains) makes an excellent addition to this meal.

Serves 4 as a main course.


2 large ripe plantains (mostly or all black)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
salt
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 small jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup orange juice
2 T fresh lime juice
2 T minced fresh cilantro leaves

1. Trim the pointed ends from the plantains. Cut the plantains into 2 inch chunks. Use a pairing knife to slit the skin lengthwise in several places on each piece. Carefully remove the skin with your fingers and discard it. Cut eac 2-inch chunk in half lengthwise.

2. Heat 2 T of the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the plantains and cook, turning once, until quite browned but not burned, about 8 mins. Transfer the plantains to a plate and sprinkle with salt to taste. Cover to keep warm.

3. Add remaining 1 T oil, the garlic, and the chile to the empty skillet. Cook just until fragran, about 30 sec. Add the beans, orange juice, and lime juice and cook, stirring often, until the beans are heated through.and have absorbed most of te juices, about 4 mins. Stir in cilantro and season with salt to taste.

4. Spoon the beans into individual bowls. Top each portion with some sauteed plantains and serve.

[jeff]

Welcome to the board, I'll have to give that a try. If I get around to it I'll make it with some pics.

again welcome to the board!

[aargnzarf]

Thanks for the welcome! I'd love to hear what you think and see your plating, if you do make the recipe. I have a great camera, but am short on time thanks to Kai, the wee one. I'm thinking the next recipe I'll post will be Chard Bundles with Lemon Rice and Sage Butter. That or something involving sweet potatoes and coconut milk....