Maduros (Fried Sweet Plantains)

Ted, Those are called tostones. The tostones are made with green plantains. Maduros from this recipe are made with ripe plantains. I like them both but personally I prefer maduros made exactly like this recipe entails. Yum!

Ted: Your method is correct for green plantains. Drizzle with salt while hot Delicious with queso fresco slices. (Called tostones or patacones depending on the region). The easiest way for maduros, which are the ripe plantains, is to place slices on a lightly greased cookie sheet and brush with oil before roasting 375 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes turning once.

This is the simplest way - and I'm sure it works, but I learned to cut them into thick (1"+) cylinders and fry them, turning as needed to lightly brown evenly. After removing from the oil and draining, I press the cylinders to a somewhat flat circle and fry them again. Really brings out the sugars, and gives them a unique appearance.

This was a favorite of my uncle from Columbia. My aunt, with a French cooking heritage, changed one thing. She used butter instead of neutral oil. Either way is delicious. You don’t have to let the plantains go totally black but they should feel fairly soft and partly black and partly yellow. Don’t use high heat to brown them. They burn easily but you don’t want to get them nice and crispy on the edge.

I sprinkle them with a mix of ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, a bit of salt, then sprinkle with demerara sugar. I fry in a mixture of coconut oil and butter; the coconut oil helps keep the butter from burning. When almost done, I sprinkle with fresh lime juice, then flame them in the pan with Jamaican rum. These are awesome when done this way.

Please don't forget that it's also extremely popular in West African countries!! (Ghana, Nigeria) It's also served as a side dish accompanied by spicy sauce some times. Definitely a basic to try when traveling to those countries and a dish they are very proud of ;)

My mother would always store her plantains in brown-paper grocery store bags. She would leave them there until the peel was black for maduros. Alternatively, she would tear the bag open and use it to flatten the tostones out. It would soak up the grease. My mother died last year and this is one of the foods I am going to have to learn to make if I ever want to eat them at home again.

I squash the plantain slices after the first fry and fry again as well. Forty years ago, I lived in the Bahamas for a couple years and that was the way the locals did it.

I live in Lagos Nigeria. Plantains, and dodo..your maduros, are a food staple here. Pleasantly surprised to see one of our national dishes..we fry the yellow plantains sliced as in the picture, or cubed. Accompany everything!

Go to a Latin, Asian, or African store. American supermarkets throw the plantains away long before they blacken. As a produce manager once said to me, "If anyone complains about the appearance of the vegetables I'm in trouble. And if they see a fruit fly, I'm gone."

Fried plantains are good when cooked but even better after being refrigerated overnight.

My mother made these frequently when I was growing up (she was born in Spain, but lived in pre-Castro Cuba as a child for a few years, where she learned to cook many awesome Cuban dishes). She did not discard the peels. She would fry the plantains, remove them from the oil partway through, place them between the peels (on the inside part) and squash them down (not TOO hard, though!) and then put them back in the fryer to finish cooking.

I prefer the sweet plantains. I would fry then twice too. Take them out, put them in the saved peel to mash them using the bottom of a glass or a plate. (The peel makes them not stick). Put them back in the oil for a few minutes. Remove. Drain on paper towels. Light salt. Delicious!

We call this dish "dodo" in South Western Nigeria. They go really well with rice dishes and beans. You can also try them with any hot tasting sauce of your choice.

I've also seen plantains in butter on super low heat cooked for hours until they are almost black and super caramelized. Very good. The method in Ted's comment is what I know as tostones, which are life-altering! Can also do tostones with greener platains or cooking bananas for a more savory fritter.