Plantains are a chameleon, able to fit snugly into recipes that are savory, sweet and everywhere in between. Grown in tropical and subtropical climates, they are a staple ingredient in the cuisines found there, including the foods of the Caribbean, West Africa and India. Plantains are beloved in those regions and by those with ties to them, for reasons beyond their adaptable flavor.
“Plantains are not only a fruit or a dish, they are a family custom, a marker of identity and a piece of one’s country that connects those who are missed,” historian and food writer Israel Meléndez Ayala wrote in Whetstone of the ingredient’s importance to Puerto Ricans. “The plantain conjures ancestors through the preservation of their traditions; sharing them with others keeps them alive.”
My long-ago ancestors may very well have enjoyed the fruit. Regardless, my appreciation for it is why I’m sharing this Plantain, Chorizo and Black Bean Stew recipe with you.
I ate my first plantain sometime in high school, and I remember it being love at first bite. But I didn’t start cooking them myself until a few years ago. Journalist and cookbook author Von Diaz grew up eating plantains, with her mother incorporating them into the baby food she would make from scratch. “I probably started preparing platanos when I was a little tiny child,” Diaz said.
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End of carouselI’m Aaron, a food writer and recipe developer for Washington Post Food. I’m a classically trained chef who loves the comfort and soul food I grew up with and exploring other cuisines. Need help in the kitchen? Email me at aaron.hutcherson@washpost.com or join my weekly live chat.
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If you’ve never cooked with plantains, they can be a little intimidating. “They have incredibly tough skin,” Diaz said on the phone at the airport, waiting to catch a flight to Puerto Rico. “You can’t just peel a plantain like you would peel a banana. You have to cut both ends of the plantains and then make very shallow slices down lengthwise and then peel the peel back. So that in and of itself is a different kind of process.”
While plantains might take a little bit more effort than other produce, they’re more than worth it.
Plantains resemble bananas in appearance but contain more starch and are typically cooked before being consumed. Unlike bananas, they can be enjoyed throughout their stages of growth and ripeness, with each displaying disparate flavors and textures caused by some or most of their starch converting to sugar. “Plantains are especially versatile because, as the outside color changes, so does the flavor, color and texture of the flesh,” staff writer Becky Krystal shared in her primer on the ingredient. It’s this versatility that makes plantains suitable in just about any type of dish.
Green plantains have an earthy, vegetal flavor that can be either delicate or more robust depending on their age. (The most delicately flavored “super young, perhaps not yet completely formed” plantains are “probably not something that you find at the average grocery store, but certainly farmers markets,” Diaz said.) They are also quite stiff to the touch. “They’re very, very starchy,” Diaz said. “Starchier than a potato,” which makes them a good addition to soups and stews.
When they’re ripe, meaning the plantains are yellow and speckled with black spots, the flavor comparison to bananas comes into play. “For people who like the taste of banana, it’s a slightly similar flavor, but because it’s more sturdy, it’ll hold up to sautéing and frying,” Diaz said. Taste-wise, Diaz finds ripe plantains to have more notes of honey and to be “a little bit more complex” than bananas. This is the stage I’m calling for in the stew, with the plantains offering a hint of sweetness to complement the earthy, savory spiciness of the other ingredients, similar to sweet potatoes added to chili.
Last are the super-ripe plantains that are almost or completely black. At this stage, the produce is soft, creamy and luscious, and Diaz describes the flavors as reminiscent of the caramel notes of bananas Foster while still maintaining “depth and robustness.” Naturally, they are at home in desserts, such as staff writer Daniela Galarza’s Coconut Cream Pie With Plantains and Dulce de Leche. A simpler way to enjoy these is fried as platanos maduros, which are typically served as a side dish (and are a personal favorite).
Understanding the qualities of each plantain stage will help you explore the fruit’s cooking possibilities, and this weeknight-friendly stew recipe makes an easy point of entry. Filling a bowl with sweet plantains, spicy chorizo and earthy black beans, and topping it with salty queso fresco, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of tart lime juice, hits all the right notes.
