Plátanos Maduros (Fried Sweet Plantains)
One of my all-time favorite desserts is a bowl of vanilla ice cream and Cuban plátanos maduros - an iconic side dish made from overripe, black sweet plantains!
Ingredients
- 3 black-skinned, very ripe plantains (see picture above)
- lard (preferred), canola oil or other frying medium of choice
Instructions
- Heat lard in a heavy bottomed pot or pan. Add enough so that it's about 1/2 inch deep.
- Cut off the top and bottom of each plantain and remove the peel. Slice at an angle into pieces that are approximately 1 1/2 inches thick, as shown in the picture above.
- When your lard is just starting to shimmer, add plantains in a single layer. Fry for about 1 minute, flip, and fry for another minute.
- Reduce heat to low. Continue cooking your plantains, turning every minute or so until deeply golden brown and slightly charred - another 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and drain maduros on a paper-towel lined plate. Serve hot.