If you’re looking to spice up your mealtime routines, especially during those busy school nights, you may find your solution in versatile ingredients that work for a multitude of dishes.
For example, you can turn to plantains as a replacement for often-used recipe staples like potatoes. Plantains are a fruit grown around the world that cooks and eats more like a vegetable. Members of the banana family, they’re starchier and lower in sugar, meaning they’re still green when ripe.
While you’re most likely to find them baked, roasted or fried as a savory side dish at Latin, African or Caribbean restaurants, they’re growing in popularity in North America as stars of their own recipes or as nutritious, exotic swaps for starches. For example, these dishes from Dole for Plantain Crusted Salmon Fillets and Slow Cooker Sweet Potato, Plantain and Lentil Caribbean Curry offer quick ways to enjoy plantains while saving time in the kitchen.
As an additional benefit, plantains can be used at every stage of ripeness. They can be boiled like a potato when green; prepared in sauces and soups, air-fried or roasted as snacks when yellow; or baked in desserts and sweet recipes when black or spotted.
Find more ways to enjoy plantains and other fresh fruits and vegetables in family recipes at dole.com.
PLANTAIN CRUSTED SALMON FILLETS
Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
4 salmon fillets (6 ounces each), skin on
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus additional, to taste, divided
1 Dole Plantain, green or half ripe
2 Dole green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tablespoon grated lime peel
SLOW COOKER SWEET POTATO PLANTAIN AND LENTIL CARRIBAN CURRY
Prep time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6
1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons, grapeseed oil, divided
1 large Dole white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 can (15 ounces) reduced sodium chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 large Dole sweet potatoes, chopped (about 4 cups)
2 medium Dole plantains, chopped (about 3 cups)
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup red lentils
3 cups packed, chopped collard greens
1/4 cup roasted salted pepitas
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