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| Choose 10 to 15
unbruised: yellow whole plantains (sold as 'ripe' plantains in most stores) with the skins intact and place them in a fruit basket or hang in a mesh sack, in a well-ventilated location until they are almost uniformly black (at least a week). They will be soft to the touch and retain only a few faded streaks of yellow if at all, but do not wait after they begin to wrinkle and the ends collapse. Don't worry about tiny fruit flies or whitish powder on the surface, cut away impurities if the skin has been pierced and wash before cooking. Some plantains will ripen more quickly than others. Try to use each as soon as it is ripe, or refrigerate afterwards for no more than a 3-5 days. Baked Sweet Plantain (Platano al Horno): Preheat oven to 350 degress F. Cover a heavy broiling pan or solid toaster oven tray (for toaster oven) with a sheet of aluminum foil and place clean, ripe plaintain squarely in the center, away from the sides. Bake the plantain, still in its skin, for 20-25 minutes or until 5 minutes after it pops through its skin and begins to spill out. Sprinkle immediately with grated salty, hard, white Venezuelan cheese (queso rayado) or freshly-grated Feta cheese. Tajadas: Alternately, fill a large frying pan with about 1/2" light cooking oil such as canola or corn oil. Heat on medium high until it's hot enough to quickly fry an egg. Peel blackened skin off ripe plaintain, cut in half lengthwise and slice into 1/4" thick strips. Fry side-by-side into hot oil, turning once, for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until they reach a golden orange-brown (caramelized) hue. Remove promptly to avoid burning and place on paper towel to remove excess oil. Normally served hot/warm in less than 10 minutes, as they will cool quickly. Serve
with equal parts black beans, white
rice and string beef for traditional Venezuelan pabellon.
Refrigerate unused portion in a covered dish or container, microwave to
re-heat. |
