Casa Muy Grande Plantains
As much as I enjoy playing in the kitchen, I like to balance “project recipes” (I’m looking at you, Paleo Chicken Bastila.) and dead-simple dishes that require almost no work with a big flavor payoff. This Tropical Chopped Salad is part of my series of Super Simple recipes that are made with minimal fuss and just a few ingredients.
When we arrived in Costa Rica a few days ago, our first stop, fresh off the plane, was the grocery store in town because it’s a 30-minute ride over rutted, unpaved roads to get to Casa Muy Grande, our house by the sea. We just can’t make an easy grocery run every day, so we tried to stock up. But we had no plan. We kinda grabbed stuff willy-nilly: avocados, cucumbers, oranges, onions, chicken breasts, ground beef, eggs, bacon, limes, beer and liquor (living with non-paleos this week), and plantains. (And I bought a little packet of cumin, just in case.) With no firm menu, we kinda thought with these base ingredients, we’d figure some stuff out.
This morning, I decided plantains would make an excellent side for scrambled eggs, but I was too lazy to look up a recipe. I just kinda winged it, and it worked out great. So here’s my non-recipe for platanos maduros, Casa Muye Grande-style.
Casa Muy Grande Plaintains
Serves 2-4 | Prep 2 min. | Cook 10 min.
Ingredients:
2 ripe plaintains (The darker, the better.; do not use green ones for this recipe.)
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon coconut oil or other cooking fat
lots of salt
pinch of ground cumin
1 fresh lime
Directions:
1. Peel the plantains. The easiest way is to cut off both ends, then make shallow slits along the ridges along the length of the plantain. Then you can pry off the skin. (Here’s a very detailed video. Good golly! It’s not brain surgery.)
2. Slice plantains into coins. If you’re fancy, cut them on the diagonal. I was not fancy.
3. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Place the plantain slices in the pan, add the water, and cover. The water should steam and soften the plantains. Keep an eye on it! When the water is evaporated, test a plantain and see if they’re almost soft. Yes? Proceed to step 4. No? Add a few more tablespoons water and continue to steam under tender.
4. When the plantains are tender, add the cooking fat to the pan and shake it around to distribute the oil under the plantain slices. Reduce heat to medium-high. Sprinkle the slices generously with salt and let the bottom side cook until browned, about 1-3 minutes. Flip the slices and cook the other side until golden, another minute or two.
5. Sprinkle a pinch of cumin over the slices, add more salt, then stir with a wooden spoon to coat each slice with spice and fat. Remove to a serving plate and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top.
Bonus Condiment: We’ve been enjoying Salsa Lizano on just about everything: bunless burgers, avocado and cabbage salad, plantains, ceviche. It include onions, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, and spices — but I suspected it also includes non-paleo ingredients so Dave and I typed the ingredients list into translate.google.com. Hmmm…
water, sugar, iodized salt, vegetable concentrate, molasses, spices (with mustard and celery), modified corn starch (thickener), acetic acid (acidulant), Potassium Chloride, chile pepper, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, sodium benzoate (0.09%) as preservative. Treated with ionizing energy.
I’m OK with that for now. It’s the Costa Rican version of ketchup, and it kicks ass. When in Rome, ya know…
Another nutrition note: Plantains are a pretty dense source of carbs. I’m using them as post-workout fuel on vacation, but at home, they’re a once-in-a-while treat. For context, here’s how they stack up against sweet potatoes and bananas.
Sweet Potato, 1 cup baked: carbs 41g | sugar 13 g
Plantain, 1 cup sliced: carbs 48g | sugar 22 g
Banana, 1 cup sliced: carbs 34g | sugar 18 g
Tags: costa rica, dino-chow, paleo, super simple, tropical
20 Responses to “Casa Muy Grande Plantains”
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Can you use coconut oil instead of cooking fat?
Oh! Definitely. I’ll change that so it’s more clear.
Awesome! Thanks, I can’t wait to try it!
I am a Costa Rican so I know about plantains (Platanos) both ripe and green. We slice the ripe ones without the water and they come out delish. With the green ones, once again they are sliced about an inch thick, fried, smash down and refried again, sprinkle with salt, add lime juice if desired. Yum!
The plantains look beautiful! I always forget to buy them at the market because they are so green (and I’m sort of an impatient chef).
Wow, those turned out beautifully!
I bought a huge bottle of that kind of salsa when we were there but have not tried it, in fact kind of forgot about it. I will have to give it whirl this week.
I loved the plaintains when we were there, had them salsa and guac for afternoon snacks.
Oh man, now I want Lizano. I have not found many good sources to buy it in the US, so if you like it, buy some to bring back, even with the marginal ingredients!
Sounds like you’re having a delicious time by the sea! Plantains are a favorite of mine also, but I haven’t had them with cumin – I’ll have to give it a try. Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Love the plantains! Really just discovered them as a good carb source to fuel my workouts. I cut them in chunks, fry both cut sides in coconut oil till browned, smash them between two cutting boards, refry till crisp and sprinkle with sea salt. The sweet/salty thing is great and I could see them being a good sub for pancakes, maybe with bacon or sausage for breakfast. I’ve been Whole 30-ing and noticed that my legs didn’t have the zip I needed to power through sprints. A few pieces of plantain the night before fixed it! Gonna try it with cumin next.
While you’re there, see if you can find Maya-Ik hot sauce. It’s got a smidge of sugar in it, but only a smidge, and it’s the best darn hot sauce in the world. It’s a Guatemalan product, but it’s honestly worth a side trip to Guatemala to get it. I came back from my vacation with 22 bottles. Not kidding. Twenty-two. And when I run out, I’m going back to Central America.
Hi Mel! Just found your blog and even though we don’t eat a paleo diet (to be honest I’m not even really sure what that means….hahaha) I’m always looking for new recipes and wanting to try new things. Forgive my ignorance but what color are plantains when they’re dark….black? Also, I’d love to see a print button under your recipes so that I can print just the recipe without everything else that’s on the page.
I’m looking forward to trying many of your recipes!!
Welcome! I’m glad you found me. Hope you have lots of fun trying out the recipes. You don’t have to be paleo to enjoy delicious, real food. YAY!
[...] Beyond the Treadmill: Exercise and the Paleo Lifestyle California Strength Does Grace Casa Muy Grande Plantains [...]
LOVE your book and your recipes. Can’t wait to try this! We have a fruit and veggie co-op called bountiful baskets and we got some plantains this week and I had no idea what the hell to do with them! Now I do! You are awesome- thanks for the fun recipes!
Lucky you, getting plantains in your basket. Hope you like these!
Salsa Lizano really is great! My mother (native Costa Rican) used to make lamb chops with it. Also good with arroz con pollo. Anyway, the ingredients used to look much better until it was bought by an American company. Go figure! I’ve looked around and there are different formulations, some which almost approach Paleo friendly. I haven’t kept track but search around and let us know if you find a better source. I’ll probably be down there next winter and will see if the local stuff looks better or if I can stop by the factory to ask about it.
Oh, man! I just want to put that stuff on everything. And it is REALLY sad that the recipe was cleaner before the American company took over. Not surprised, though. BOO!
Definitely let me know if you find a clean version — and you know I will share the info immediately if I find it. YUM.
Thank you for yet another great recipe Mel. When I’ve fried plantains in the past, I’ve 1) used too much oil and they’ve been too rich, and 2) not liked the messy smasing so much. Steaming, then using less oil works better for my taste!
I’m a little late to this party so you may have already found this or something better, but I found websites for buying Lizano in the US, a recipe for making your own Lizano style salsa, and also a site that sells the Guatemalan Maya Ik hot sauce.
Lizano for buyin:
http://www.costaricaproducts.com/lizano/
Lizano for makin:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-lizano-style-costa-rican-salsa-176299
Maya Ik:
http://www.guatemala4ever.com/food/hot-sauce-maya-ik-green/
I too am a sauce addict and avid recipe detective!! LOVE your website too
You are AWESOME for sharing that link to the recipe. Can’t wait to try to paleoize it. WOOT!
[...] Casa Muy Grande Plantains [...]