Baked Ripe Plantains with Cheese

Helga Glaesel de BlandingAugust 26, 2016

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

Plantains are a staple in Latin cooking, in Guatemala one of the most popular ways to eat them are fried, with a sprinkling of sugar, or boiled (leaving the peel on) with a little sugar and cinnamon, in both recipes ripe fruit is used and they are almost always served alongside refried black beans. I am curious to try other types of plantain recipes from other Latin countries. I see there are a lot of recipes using geen ones, such as tostones, and many other different ways to eat them that I had never thought of. In my search for these types of recipes, I stumbled across a website that I loved: Laylita’s Recipes, which lead me to another Latin food site Dominican Cooking, which is also fabulous. They both have amazing recipes, and their websites are loaded with beautiful photos.

I prefer the taste and texture of ripe plantains… cooked or raw, rather than green plantains; so my first impulse was to try a recipe using the ripe fruit. I decided to try these baked plantains with cheese to serve as part of a weekday dinner, as a treat. I served them just as they are, without any additional sauce, except for a little Tabasco my husband and I added to ours. We loved them! These are great to serve for a Chapin breakfast, and since independence month is coming, I wanted to share this recipe so you get inspired.

I searched for my cheese at the dairy section of the supermarket, choosing a local brand that is suitable for melting. You can also use queso fresco, or panela (these are both a type of white farmer’s cheese). The recipe suggests mozzarella cheese, which is a suitable choice because of its mild flavor and great melting properties.

As far as the ripeness goes, I used ripe plantains that were still firm. The recipe asks that you turn them over mid baking, and if they are too ripe, they will break appart.

Helga

Baked Riped Plantains with Cheese

Recipe adapted from: Laylita’s Recipes
Serves: 4

Ingredients
4 ripe plantains
1-2 tbs melted butter (or coconut oil)
8 slices of cheese (quesillo, panella, fresco or mozzarella)

Optional:
Sprinkle cayenne pepper, or tabasco sauce.

Procedure:

Pre-heat oven to 400°F
Peel the plantains and cut them in half, place them on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper of aluminum foil and rub them with the melted butter or coconut oil.
Bake the plantains for 30 minutes, then turn each one and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden on both sides.
Remove the plantains from the oven, make a horizontal slit in the middle of each plantain, and stuff them with the cheese slices.
In a few minutes the cheese will have melted, serve immediately, with or without hot sauce.

Have you made this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen

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