Sweet Tostones
I love plantains! I still remember the first time I tasted fried plantains. I was in medical coding school and pregnant with my son. My class threw me a baby shower and a classmate from the Caribbean brought fried plantains. I immediately fell in love with them. I never knew how to buy or cook them, so it was years before I had them again. My husband found a buffet that has them. Normally I don’t like going to buffets, but the fried plantains made this one worth it to me. Since I found out I have Hashimoto’s I haven’t gone out to eat at all because I’m worried about what foods are cooked in and cross contamination. I’m finally starting to feel better little by little, so it’s not worth it to me to go out to eat and risk screwing that up. So, I learned to make fried plantains at home!
Then, I learned about tostones, which are twice-fried plantains. Basically fried plantains, but twice as good! Most recipes that you’ll find are for savory tostones using green plantains. They are amazing! But, I decided to come up with a dessert recipe for them because I love the sweetness of fried ripe plantains.
This recipe is just a basic recipe for sweet tostones. They are delicious just like this, but I also use them as a base for a delectable dessert tostones dish with caramel and whipped cream!
Start with a ripe plantain. For this recipe I like to use them when the peel is almost completely black. But, as long as they are at least yellow with some black spots they will work. You have to be a little more careful making tostones with ripe plantains because they are much more fragile than green plantains. Peel your plantain and then cut it into 1 inch thick slices. Heat the coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Make sure the oil is good and hot before you add the plantain slices. Sprinkle the plantains with cinnamon and then add to the hot oil. Fry them for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip them and fry the other side. Once both sides are fried, scoop them out of the oil and onto a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon. You could eat them just like this if you wanted. Fried plantains are delicious! But, twice-fried plantains are even better!
Next comes the fun part! To make the fried plantains into tostones, you need to smash them and fry them again. I smash mine one at a time between two pieces of parchment paper using the bottom of a measuring cup. As I said before, ripe plantains are very fragile, so smash carefully. You don’t want them to be completely flat, so stop when they are about 1/4 inch thick. Very carefully, remove them from the parchment paper and return to the hot oil to fry again. I use a spatula to get under them so they don’t break when I’m returning them to the pan. Fry them this time for about a minute on each side. Watch them closely because they will burn quickly. A little burnt is okay. Again, place them on a paper towel lined plate to soak up the extra oil and cool.
Remember the delectable dessert tostones I mentioned earlier? If you’d like to try them, all you have to do is drizzle some of my Non-dairy Caramel Sauce and Non-dairy Whipped Cream over them.
Remember, this should be an occasional treat. On AIP, as with any other way of eating, sweets should be eaten in moderation. That is exactly why I only make one serving of this at a time. If I made four servings, there’s a good chance I’d eat at least two. My family doesn’t share my love of plantains. But, feel free to adjust the number of servings if yours does. I would suggest still starting with 1/4 cup of coconut oil for frying and adding more only if it starts to get low during frying.
If you’d like to make savory tostones, you do it the same way. Just use green plantains instead of ripe and don’t use cinnamon. You can sprinkle with salt after frying. They are great as a replacement for nachos.
Sweet Tostones
Ingredients
- 1 Ripe plantain
- 1/4 Cup Coconut oil
- 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- Peel and slice plantain into 1 inch slices.
- Add coconut oil to skillet and melt over medium heat.
- Add plantain slices to pan and sprinkle with cinnamon.
- Fry for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown, then flip and do the same on the other side.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove plantains to a paper towel lined plate.
- Once cool enough to handle, place one plantain piece at a time between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Flatten to about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Add flattened plantains back to hot oil and fry on each side for about a minute or until golden brown.
- Remove plantains from skillet with slotted spoon and cool on paper towel lined plate.
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