Every time I cook with plantains, which is not nearly enough, I tell myself I need to cook with them all the time.
Why Plantains are Awesome
Here’s the thing: plantains are cheap, delicious as heck, and as far as exotic produce goes, pretty darn readily available. I remember seeing plantains in the vegetable bins way back when I was a kid, and back then there was way less of a demand for super cool fruits. I always thought they were weird bananas, and they kind of are, but a thousand times better. I’m a sucker for sweet and spicy flavor combinations, and it’s just about (or exactly) the beginning of fall, a.k.a., chili season as someone once told me, and so, this plantain chili was born.
My last plantain recipe on this site (okay, my only other plantain recipe) was for some burgers. That one also involved some smoky, spicy black beans, but it’s very different from what’s going on here.
How to Make Plantain Chili
The great thing about the use of plantains in chili is that you can make your chili as you normally would, then literally just chop some plantains up and throw them in. They only need a short simmer time to soften up, and during that time some of their sweetness will fuse into the rest of the chili Couldn’t be easier. I had this urge to do fancy things with my plantains. Fry them up maybe? I don’t know, but in any event, I resisted, and I’m happy to report that plantains, thrown into a stew, are as delicious as you’ve ever had them. And if you’ve never had them before, there’s no better place to start than with the recipe right in front of you.
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