Praline'd Plantains

Texas meets Cuba in my twist on sweet plantains!

Many moons ago I lived in Florida, let me rephrase that, I was trapped in Southern Florida.  But it gets worse...you know that part of the map of Florida where it looks like they ran out of ink, that giant hole is called Lake Okeechobee. It's not so much a lake as it is a glorified swamp with a fancy name.  

On that lake is a town called...wait for it...Okeechobee (yeah the naming committee stretched for that one huh?) and that is where I found myself for about a year.  Now I'm a proud hillbilly, on a good day I might even resemble a redneck but native Okeechobeeians (totally just made that up) are a whole different breed.  It could be the heat and the humidity that stews their brains, the fact that at any given time you might just find a giant alligator in your back yard (no joke! Can't count the times one took a siesta in my back yard) or it could be the fact that instead of watches they scheduled events by thunderstorm, "See ya at the Pizza Hut at stom number 3 o'clock."  Now I hated the heat, the humidity was torture, the bugs the size of house cats were terrifying but there was one little treasure that I happened upon that I've been addicted to ever since...plantains!

Plantains are one of those things that can be found in just about any market but most people don't know what to do with them.  When they are green/yellow they are starchy like a potato and my favorite way to eat them is twice frying them (tostones) they are a nice change from potato chips next to a sandwich.  The sweet ones are the ones I'm utterly obsessed with.  It took me a while to figure out how to cook them just right but now that I've got it down its one of my go-to quick midnight snack recipes.  It just happens that anything with praline in the name makes my little Texan heart go all a flutter, so it's a win all across the board. 

There are two rules when it comes to sweet plantains.  First, the peel has to be black. Like really black.  A good rule of thumb is to wait till they look like they should be taking a trip to the garbage dump, and then wait two days.  They might be a little bit squishy, that's ok.  The riper the plantain the sweeter it is.

Second rule, most of the time when you fry something you fry hot and quick...throw that rule away for this recipe.  You want to develop the caramelization slowly.  This recipe is for my Praline'd Plantains, if you don't want the extra sugar, skip the sugar step and proceed with the recipe, they are fantastic that way too.  Now on to the recipe, no hatemail please when you develop an addiction. 

Praline'd Plantains

1 very ripe plantain (peel should be entirely black)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Oil for frying

In a small skillet, heat half an inch of oil over medium heat.  Cut both ends off the plantain and use the tip of your knife to cut through the tough peel but taking care not to cut into the flesh too much (it helps to split it in a few places to make peeling easier) and peel and discard the peel.  Cut into one inch bias cut (diagonal, you want the pieces to have more surface area that is flat than round). 

In a small bowl or zippy bag combine the brown sugar and salt. Gently pat the sugar mix onto each piece.  

Carefully put the pieces into the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd the skillet (I usually have to do two batches for one plantain in my small skillet) and turn down the oil until it's a slow but constant bubbling, think hot tub bubbles.  

When lightly browned, flip them carefully, the tops will continue to cook.  Cooking time is around ten minutes but can vary depending on the oil temp, size and ripeness of the plantains etc.  Do NOT drain on paper towels (I use parchment paper) the sticky sugar will stick to the paper towel and then you will be sad.  So don't be sad, say no to paper towels when plantains are afoot. 

This recipe is more about how it looks than how long it cooks.  Done-ness is also dependent on you, I like mine black around the edges because I like the slightly bitter note you get with the sugar that dark, you may like yours more golden, just be sure they are cooked and soft through the middle. 

Brown Butter Sweet Cornbread

I'm a Southern girl through and through, but I was doubly blessed because both my Mom and Grandma are amazing cooks.  I have fond memories of standing in a chair helping to stir whatever was bubbling away on my Mom's stove and decorating cookies with her on all the major holidays...there is a holiday because the grass is green right?!  I also remember my Grandma had this giant tin (nearly as tall as I was if memory serves me right) full of flour in one of the cupboard and when she asked me to count out cups of flour I knew something yummy was in my future, biscuits or pancakes or pies.  No one will ever convince me that there is a better pie out there than one that came from my Mamaw's kitchen. 

One of the many staples of a Southern kitchen is cornbread.  Serve it up with stew or chili, break it up in a bowl and drizzle it with milk or buttermilk and eat it with a spoon or slather it with honey butter for breakfast, one can always find an excuse to eat a piece of cornbread.  There are cornbread mixes out there and while they aren't horrible, they usually turn out a dry and mostly tasteless piece of bread that usually doesn't make it into the leftover section in the icebox.  The good news is that making it from scratch is super easy and will taste so good it will knock your socks off!  

This is a recipe I've been tweaking over the years and is exactly how I like cornbread, sweet and moist with a little texture from the addition of the grits and with a slight nuttiness form the browned butter.  If you don't have grits on hand, don't worry, you can use a full cup of corn meal instead, you just won't get the occasional pops of crunch.  My recipe calls for putting a cast iron skillet and butter in the oven while it's preheating, this too is optional.  I like the way the batter fries up a bit when you pour it into a sizzling hot skillet because it gives a nice crunchy crust.  If you don't have an oven proof skillet, you can use an oven proof glass pan and melt the butter in it.  As far as the liquid goes, you need a cup of something from the dairy aisle, but whatever you choose to use is up to you, milk, half and half, cream or buttermilk.  

Browned Butter Sweet Cornbread

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

3/4 cup corn meal

1/4 grits

1 cup all purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place 3 Tablespoons butter in am oven proof skillet and place in the oven to melt the butter and heat the skillet. 

In a bowl, add corn meal, flour, grits, sugar, salt, and baking powder and stir.  Add the egg and half and half and stir just until combined and there are no pockets of dry ingredients. 

Check on the melted butter in the skillet, once bubbly and the milk solids have begun to brown (you can see the browned bits of the butter in the pictures above and below), use a pot holder to remove the skillet and stir the browned butter into the batter.  Replace the skillet in the oven with the 2 Tablespoons left over butter until it melts.  Once the butter is melted, carefully take the skillet out of the oven with a pot holder and swirl the butter around until evenly coated and quickly pour the batter into the skillet and put back in the oven.  This should be done as quickly as you can (while still being safe) to avoid the skillet loosing any heat.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes, checking done-ness with a toothpick. 

A few wee tips:

*If you are unsure of how seasoned (that's what makes cast iron non-stick) and you are planning to turn the corn bread out of the skillet instead of cutting slices while still in the pan, cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of your skillet.  After pouring off the first three TBSPs of butter, place the parchment in the bottom of the skillet and add the rest of the butter and continue the recipe as written.

*I find that cornbread keeps best when it is stored in a zip top bag that isn't zipped all the way.  The bread is moist compared to most breads and letting it breathe helps it from going bad so quickly. 

*If, by some miracle, you have leftovers, you can smash the cornbread into crumbs and freeze, it makes a great substitute for regular bread crumbs when breading veggies or meat.