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Tag Archives: plantains

A Taste of the Tropics in Northern Perú

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Anonymous in los órganos, peru, travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

food, fresh fish, fried plantain, los órganos, máncora, peru, plantains, seafood, the beach, tortillas, travel, tropical food, yuca

Sunset in Chicama, home of the world's longest left-breaking wave.

Sunset in Chicama, home of the world’s longest left-breaking wave.

As we drove north from Lima, the dry desert roads gave way to lush palms and fields of banana trees, and a more relaxed vibe set in. After a brief stop in Chicama for the surfistas, we spent five days in Los Órganos, a small town just south of popular surf getaway Máncora. While Los Órganos hadn’t originally been the planned destination, like most of our last-minute changes it turned out to be an excellent decision. Together with our friends who had joined us in Lima, we were able to rent two bungalows with an amazing ocean view. And because it was the off-season, the area was quiet and peaceful and we truly had the beach to ourselves.

Los Organos Collage

Like many towns in Perú, Los Órganos is organized around a main plaza where people congregate to socialize, shop, and eat. We visited the plaza daily, hitting the crowded market to find something to grill for dinner, or spending the afternoon at one of the many restaurants surrounding the square. The food options had changed along with the landscape, becoming decidedly more tropical. As I’ve previously noted, I’m bananas for plantains (you see what I did there?) and it wasn’t until northern Perú that they began to consistently turn up on our plates. Eating patacones for breakfast was a welcome indulgence. Patacones (also known as tostónes in some regions) are made from green plantains that are sliced, fried, pounded flat, fried again (!!!) until crisp and golden brown, and served with a healthy dose of salt.

Patacones

And while we’d been happily scarfing down seafood since Chile, everything tastes better with fried yuca and sweet plantains on the side. In addition to the trusty standby of  whole fried fish, we tried out a yummy tortilla de mariscos. For my fellow gringos who may be confused, we’re not talking about a tortilla wrap of the corn or flour variety. In much of Spain and South America, a tortilla is a thick, hearty omelette with potatoes and onions. And in this case, mussels, calamari and shrimp as well.

Fried Fish & Plantains

Tortilla de Mariscos en Perú

I think it’s safe to say that our month in Perú has been my favorite part of our journey. The country has so much to offer it’s hard to believe I once associated it with Machu Picchu and not much else…though I can’t complain if that’s where the tourists were flocking while I was strolling the empty beaches, thank you very much. Perú is packed full of mouth-watering flavors, eye-opening culture, and warm, friendly people. I can’t wait to come back. And next time, even if I flock to Machu Picchu with the rest of ’em, I’ll make time for plenty of additional stops.

Recipe: Crispy Plantain Chips

13 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by Anonymous in appetizers and sides, recipes

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

crispy plantain chips, guacamole, plantains, tortilla chips

My love affair with el platano continues.

With the abundance of face-sized paltas at the mercado lately, I’ve been making lots of guac. (By the way, I highly recommend this recipe from The Other Side of the Tortilla). But oddly, it can be hard to track down tortilla chips in this town. Las Tortillas de Pancho Villa is lo máximo, but obviously they can’t deliver on the drop of a dime and my guacamole cravings are often unplanned. And guacamole on crackers tastes pretty much as you would expect: not great.

Enter, the plantain chip.

That thing I said before about preferring my plantains super ripe and sweet instead of starchy? Yeah, scratch that. I’m a liar. These are flippin’ delicious.

Make sure you choose plantains that are nice and green, not ripe. I used a mandoline to slice the plantains lengthwise because I like the presentation better, but you can also just use a sharp knife or slice them up like coins. Make sure you keep an eye on them as they fry so they don’t burn. And whatever you do, DO NOT skip the seasoning! It’s la bomba.

This recipe is modified from one that originally appeared in Gourmet.

CRISPY PLANTAIN CHIPS

2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (1/2 if you’re using cayenne pepper hecho en Argentina)

vegetable oil

4 green plantains

Stir together zest, salt, and cayenne pepper and set aside.

Cut ends from plantains and score skin of each plantain 5 times lengthwise, avoiding ridges. Soak in hot tap water for about 5 minutes before peeling. Meanwhile, cover bottom of a 5-quart heavy pot with about a half-inch of vegetable oil and heat over moderate heat. It should be nice and hot before you drop in the plantains, or they will absorb oil rather than crisp.

Cut the peeled plantains lengthwise with a U-shaped peeler or mandolin into very thin strips. Place 6 – 10 strips in the hot oil (they shouldn’t be touching) and fry, turning frequently, until golden, 45 – 60 seconds. Transfer with tongs to paper towels and sprinkle crisps immediately with salt mixture.

These don’t store so well, so you have an excuse to eat them all immediately.

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